Bursa Malaysia extended its gains on Wednesday midday as the FBM KLCI rose by more than 10 points, supported by buying activity in utility stocks following lower oil prices.
At 12:30 pm, the FBM KLCI had risen 10.18 points, or 0.62%, to 1,654.14, up from Tuesday's close of 1,643.96. The benchmark index traded within a range of 1,645.03 to 1,656.87 throughout the morning session.
Utility Stocks Continue to Support the Index
The index's rise was driven primarily by utility stocks, with Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) climbing 32 sen to RM13.04.
Petronas Gas Bhd (PetGas) rose 20 sen to RM17.38, while YTL Corporation Bhd gained 1 sen to reach RM2.30.
Buying activity at lower price levels provided support for utility stocks, while the drop in oil prices also bolstered sentiment toward the sector.
Mixed Market Index Performance
Across the board, the FBM Emas Index rose 40.32 points (0.33%) to 12,305.79, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 69.56 points (0.57%) to 12,197.17.
Conversely, the FBM 70 Index fell 48.14 points (0.27%) to 17,561.95.
The F4GBM Index rose 3.51 points (0.35%) to 997.68. Losers Still Dominate
Although the FBM KLCI remained in positive territory, overall market sentiment was weak, with 603 losers compared to 350 gainers.
A total of 521 counters remained unchanged, while 1,381 were untraded and 95 were suspended.
This situation indicates that the index's rise was driven more by a few heavyweights rather than a broad-based market rally.
Nestle Among the Gainers
Nestle (M) Bhd recorded the largest gain among major counters, rising RM1.12 to RM90.12.
TNB rose 32 sen to RM13.04, while United Plantations Bhd gained 28 sen to RM31.60.
Gamuda Bhd increased by 20 sen to RM5.18, and PetGas also rose 20 sen to RM17.38.
Hengyuan Records Largest Drop
Among the losers, Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd fell 57 sen to RM3.77, making it one of the weakest performers at midday.
Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd dropped 44 sen to RM40.36, while Eurospan Holdings Bhd fell 25 sen to RM2.99.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd declined 22 sen to RM22.28, and Mi Technovation Bhd fell 17 sen to RM5.22.
Zetrix AI Remains Most Active
Among the most active counters, Zetrix AI Bhd remained unchanged at 16.5 sen after trading between 16 sen and 17.5 sen, with 190.17 million shares changing hands. VS Industry Bhd rose 1.5 sen to 25 sen, with 104.04 million shares traded.
Gamuda recorded a volume of 39.63 million shares, while JAKS Resources Bhd gained half a sen to 19.5 sen, with 31.61 million shares changing hands.
Tanco Holdings Bhd also rose half a sen to 16.5 sen, with 30.77 million shares traded.
Trading Value Hits RM1.49 Billion
The overall market trading volume reached 1.92 billion shares valued at RM1.49 billion at midday.
Although the FBM KLCI posted a gain of over 10 points, negative market breadth indicated that selling pressure persisted across the majority of counters.
