KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Monday, buoyed by positive sentiment following Budget 2027 and overnight gains on Wall Street, where a rebound in technology stocks and easing oil prices offset weak US consumer sentiment.
At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.10 points, or 0.31%, to 1,613.55 from Friday’s close of 1,608.45. The index opened 3.34 points higher at 1,611.03.
Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 251 to 200, while 383 counters were unchanged, 1,993 were untraded and 12 were suspended.
Turnover stood at 340.29 million units worth RM181.54 million.
Hong Leong Investment Bank said Budget 2027, which it described as rakyat-friendly, balanced social protection, growth initiatives and fiscal consolidation, with the fiscal deficit projected to narrow to 3.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) from 3.6% in 2026.
The investment bank said the consumer and property sectors were key beneficiaries, while the oil and gas and labour-intensive sectors faced cost pressures from the minimum wage increase taking effect in June 2027.
“We view the Budget as ‘for Main Street rather than Malaysia’s Wall Street’ and expect a muted market reaction.
“Geopolitical tensions, elevated bond yields and energy prices, alongside election uncertainty, will sustain risk premiums, keeping the market range-bound,” it said in a note.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose nine sen to RM9.90, Public Bank added five sen to RM4.62, while CIMB and Tenaga Nasional gained six sen each to RM7.32 and RM12.94, respectively. IHH Healthcare, however, fell three sen to RM7.87.
In active trade, Zetrix AI was unchanged at 8.5 sen, VS Industry gained 1.5 sen to 36 sen and Nationgate rose five sen to RM2.16. Genting fell 26 sen to RM1.62, while Dagang NeXchange slipped half a sen to 51.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Vitrox added 16 sen to RM11.16, Azam Jaya rose 15 sen to RM1.10, while Hong Leong Bank and Hong Leong Financial gained 12 sen each to RM21.60 and RM17.42, respectively. Malayan Cement advanced 10 sen to RM5.65.
Among the top losers, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 28 sen to RM20.34, AME REIT slipped 10 sen to RM1.52, while Genting Malaysia and Mulpha International eased nine sen each to RM1.40 and RM2.65, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index fell 4.10 points to 17,679.01, while the FBM Emas Index gained 27.51 points to 12,126.34. The FBM Top 100 Index rose 27.01 points to 11,898.41, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 10.14 points to 12,139.93, and the FBM ACE Index edged up 4.31 points to 5,658.88.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index jumped 141.99 points to 18,566.81, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.16 of a point to 180.91. The Energy Index gained 1.24 points to 839.81, while the Plantation Index fell 38.09 points to 8,852.17.