Bursa starts higher on tech-driven buying interest

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher on continued buying interest, underpinned by optimism over the semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) supercycle, a dealer said.

At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.67 points to 1,661.50 from Wednesday’s close of 1,656.83.

The benchmark index opened 1.99 points higher at 1,658.82.

Market breadth was negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 221 to 133. A total of 276 counters were unchanged, 2,011 untraded and 15 suspended.

Turnover stood at 151.24 million shares, valued at RM80.96 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said YTL Power International Bhd’s breakout on strong trading volume on Wednesday reinforced the strength of the domestic AI theme, supported by YTL’s Green Data Centre Park in Johor, YTL AI Labs and the ILMU Claw project.

The brokerage added that the official opening of Vertiv Holdings Co’s Johor plant, alongside South Korea’s US$1.2 trillion AI supply initiative, should provide additional catalysts for the broader technology ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI is expected to hover within the 1,650–1,665 range today.

Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank rose six sen to RM10.72, Public Bank, Tenaga Nasional and IHH added two sen each to RM4.77, RM14.22 and RM8.32, respectively, while CIMB gained four sen to RM7.46.

Among active counters, Velocity ticked up 1.5 sen to 7.5 sen, Liftech and Capital A inched up half a sen each to 24.5 sen and 41 sen, respectively, while GIIB and Tanco were unchanged at 51 sen and 17.5 sen, respectively.

On the gainers’ list, Nestle rose 74 sen to RM92.50, Critical Holdings improved 22 sen to RM1.63, Hong Leong Bank climbed 14 sen to RM21.42, United Plantations jumped 10 sen to RM33.08, and Eco-Shop added seven sen to RM1.43.

Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries slipped 90 sen to RM48.10, F&N lost 42 sen to RM27.52, Kelington dropped 20 sen to RM8.05, while Pentamaster and UWC eased 14 sen each to RM4.80 and RM6.42, respectively.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index rose 16.30 points to 12,365.42, while the FBM Top 100 Index added 17.10 points to 12,192.52 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 1.13 points to 12,241.85.

The FBM Mid 70 Index fell 47.86 points to 17,868.50, while the FBM ACE Index shed 9.20 points to 4,859.54.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 81.21 points to 19,566.98, the Energy Index fell 2.37 points to 754.18, the Plantation Index added 1.52 points to 8,844.56, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.05 of-a-point to 180.44.