KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index snapped a five-day losing streak to end higher today, recouping part of the previous day’s losses, with gains driven by banking heavyweights, oil and gas-related counters, and renewed buying interest in selected consumer retail stocks, despite weaker performances across the region..
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 11.74 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 1,711.95 from yesterday’s close of 1,700.21.
The benchmark index opened 4.02 points higher at 1,704.23, marking the day’s low, and hit an intraday high of 1,715.93 in the late afternoon session.
However, market breadth was slightly negative, with 608 decliners outpacing 564 gainers, while 516 counters were unchanged, 936 untraded and 22 suspended.
Turnover fell to 3.31 billion units valued at RM3.67 billion from Monday’s 3.90 billion units valued at RM3.91 billion.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said despite the recent persistent declines and heightened geopolitical risks, a constructive development emerged in market flows.
He added that foreign investors turned net buyers yesterday with inflows of RM271 million, which was among the highest daily net purchases recorded so far in 2026.
“This suggests that foreign interest in Malaysian equities has not dissipated despite rising external uncertainty, and may reflect selective accumulation at more attractive valuations. The recovery, therefore, appears to carry a structural dimension rather than being purely sentiment-driven,” he told Bernama.
On a regional comparison, the FBM KLCI outperformed most major Asian indices, many of which remained under pressure amid sustained losses linked to the widening Middle East conflict.
“While external risks remain fluid, earnings resilience and returning foreign participation provide a firmer base for near-term stabilisation, although headline-driven volatility is likely to persist should geopolitical tensions escalate further,” said Mohd Sedek.
Regionally, the Singapore’s Straits Times Index was up by 0.53 per cent to 4,916.65, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 1.12 per cent to 25,768.08, Japan’s Nikkei 225 shrank 3.06 per cent to 56,279.05, and South Korea’s KOSPI slumped 7.24 per cent to 5,791.91.
Among Bursa Malaysia’s heavyweights, Maybank bagged 12 sen to RM11.84, Public Bank gained four sen to RM4.89, CIMB advanced eight sen to RM8.02, TNB climbed 10 sen to RM14.38, Hong Leong Bank was flat at RM23.40, and SD Guthrie fell four sen to RM5.60.
On the most active list, Bumi Armada perked up three sen to 38 sen, Velesto rose 1.5 sen to 33 sen, SP Setia was flat at 92 sen, Capital A slid two sen to 50 sen, and GDB shed half-a-sen to 37.5 sen.
Top gainers included Nestle which rose 60 sen to RM107.50, Hong Leong Financial Group garnered 30 sen to RM21.42, Hengyuan Refining Company soared 28 sen to RM1.35, and Petronas Dagangan went up 24 sen to RM22.50.
As for the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries trimmed 58 sen to RM30.42, Panasonic Manufacturing slipped 19 sen to RM7.08, while Allianz Malaysia and Sunway Construction shrank 18 sen each to RM21.74 and RM6.77, respectively. — Bernama
Malay Mail – Money
