KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia extended its upward momentum on Tuesday, opening 0.63 per cent higher to reach a new peak not seen since June 2018, supported by continued foreign fund inflows following heavy outflows last year.
As at 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) climbed 11.11 points to 1,755.18 from Monday's close of 1,744.07, after starting the session 5.18 points higher at 1,749.25.
The benchmark index also moved past its previous high of 1,755.14 recorded on June 5, 2018.
In the broader market, gainers led losers 244 to 149. Some 346 counters were unchanged, while 1,999 were untraded and 66 suspended.
Turnover totalled 212.73 million shares valued at RM169.47 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that Wall Street trended higher, while the US 10-year yield eased slightly to 4.213 per cent.
Back home, he said the FBM KLCI surged to a seven-year high underpinned by foreign funds accumulation.
"We believe foreign funds will continue to flow into Malaysia following a massive outflow last year. However, we anticipate an intermittent correction in the near term, so expect the index to trend within the 1,740-1,750 range today.
"Meanwhile, we noticed an uptick in crude palm oil futures, supported by improving demand ahead of the forthcoming Chinese New Year and Ramadan festivities. In addition, the ringgit has finally broken the 4.0 mark, the highest since 2018," he said.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank rose 14 sen to RM11.64, Tenaga Nasional added 12 sen to RM14.10, CIMB was 11 sen higher at RM8.73, Press Metal increased nine sen to RM7.65, and Petronas Chemicals appreciated six sen to RM3.40.
On the most active list, Greentronics and SP Setia added 1.5 sen each to 25 sen and 97 sen, respectively. AirAsia X rose nine sen to RM2.28, while Capital A was flat at 59 sen. MMAG fell half a sen to 4.5 sen, and ACE-debutant One Gasmaster slid 2.5 sen to 22.5 sen.
Top gainers included Nestle, which increased 30 sen to RM116.30, Malaysian Pacific, gaining 20 sen to RM32.78, Hong Leong Bank rising 18 sen to RM24.68, Malayan Cement being 15 sen firmer at RM7.90, and Hong Leong Financial appreciating 12 sen to RM21.42.
Leading decliners were United Plantations, which decreased 16 sen to RM30.70, Petronas Gas and QL Resources slipping 12 sen each to RM18.46 and RM4.13, Spritzer losing eight sen to RM3.0, and Ajinomoto being six sen weaker at RM13.70.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index advanced 66.92 points to 12,866.07, the FBM Top 100 Index firmed up 69.06 points to 12,669.23, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index expanded 29.83 points to 12,430.22.
The FBM Mid 70 Index gained 46.22 points to 17,677.05, but the FBM ACE Index declined 5.67 points to 4,843.04.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 216.42 points to 21.413.65, the Energy Index inched up 3.33 points to 768.19, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.12 points to 178.40.
The Plantation Index lost 3.19 points to 8,441.94.
-- BERNAMA