KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index extended its rally to close at an intraday high of 1,771.25, marking a fresh multi-year high, supported by strong and sustained buying interest in blue-chip stocks.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) soared 27.18 points or 1.55 per cent from Monday's close of 1,744.07.
The index surpassed its previous peak of 1,769.16 on Oct 8, 2018.
The barometer index opened 5.18 points higher at 1,749.25 and touched an intraday low of 1,749.10 in early trade before climbing steadily throughout the day toward the close.
Market breadth was positive with gainers beating losers 701 to 509, while 540 counters were unchanged, 988 untraded and 66 suspended.
Turnover improved to 3.58 billion units worth RM4.46 billion from Monday's 3.50 billion units worth RM4.07 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama that the benchmark index staged an impressive rally and is now trading at levels not seen since 2018, supported by sustained foreign buying and broad-based participation in blue-chip counters.
He noted that the index has decisively broken above the long-standing 1,720-1,725 zone, signalling a meaningful improvement in market sentiment.
"We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,750-1,780 for the remainder of the week," he said.
Meanwhile, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said, with the FBM KLCI's year-to-date gains now exceeding five per cent, concerns over the sustainability of the rally have naturally surfaced.
Nevertheless, he said the market's underlying tone remains constructive, supported by selective buying and rotation rather than indiscriminate risk-taking.
"From a technical standpoint, the index's decisive break above the 1,760 level confirms a breach of near-term tactical resistance, placing the structural resistance at around 1,780 as the next critical level to monitor," he said.
Among heavyweights, Maybank added 26 sen to RM11.76, Public Bank gained 13 sen to RM5.00, CIMB advanced 33 sen to RM8.95, Tenaga Nasional increased 14 sen to RM14.12, and IHH Healthcare rose five sen to RM8.71.
On the most active list, Borneo Oil was flat at half-a-sen, Capital A lost 1.5 sen to 57.5 sen, Tanco added two sen to RM1.33, SP Setia added 2.5 sen to 98 sen, and Zetrix AI rose half-a-sen to 82 sen.
Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries which increased 64 sen to RM33.22, Hong Leong Bank put on 58 sen to RM25.08, Hong Leong Financial perked up 56 sen to RM21.86, and Malayan Cement was 29 sen firmer at RM8.04.
As for the top decliners, Nestle eased 40 sen to RM115.60, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 20 sen to RM19.82, Bintulu Port slid 15 sen to RM5.35, while Fraser & Neave and IGB REIT slid 14 sen each to RM36.00 and RM2.85, respectively.