Bursa Malaysia's main index yesterday showed a recovery after recording a daily decline with a gain of 0.23%, thus reaching a 16-month high.
The surge was driven by strong demand from institutions.
As of 5pm yesterday, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.89 points to 1,680.99 compared to 1,677.10 on Friday last week.
Previously, the index had reached a high of 1,684.68 on August 29, 2024.
The market opened higher, increasing 0.21 points to 1,677.31, but declined throughout the morning session with a daily low of 1,668.48.
However, positive momentum resurfaced in the final hour of trading, thus bringing the main index to a higher closing level.
Overall, the number of losers outnumbered gainers by 646 to 369, while 569 counters remained unchanged.
A total of 1,149 counters were untraded and 58 counters were suspended.
Total trading volume also increased to 2.03 billion units worth RM1.79 billion, compared to 1.59 billion units worth RM1.29 billion in the previous week.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd Investment Strategy Director and Economist Mohd Sedek Jantan explained that the opening of the last trading week of 2025 was slow, reflecting the market activity that is usually sluggish at the end of the year.
He also noted that the major indices managed to recover in the final hour of trading thanks to strong support from institutions.
Among the FBM KLCI constituents, the utilities sector led the gains and helped stabilise the market amid investor sentiment that remained cautious on risks.
For heavyweights, Maybank rose 4 sen to RM10.44, CIMB jumped 8 sen to RM8.23 and Tenaga Nasional added 22 sen to RM13.88.
However, Public Bank and IHH each declined slightly.
The most active stock, Pharmaniaga remained traded at 30 sen, Tanco strengthened 1 sen to RM1.14 and Insight Analytics jumped 13 sen to RM1.08.
BLD Plantation shares rose RM1.46 to RM15.88, while Nestle and Dutch Lady each gained 70 sen.
