Malaysian benchmark rises 0.28 per cent as most stocks fall
Banking heavyweights helped lift the index, while declining counters outnumbered advancing stocks 648 to 430.
Malaysia’s FBM KLCI finished trading on October 30 at 1,615.60, gaining 4.44 points, equivalent to 0.28 per cent. Buying in selected blue chips, particularly financial services stocks, supported the advance despite losses across the wider market.
The benchmark’s previous closing level was 1,611.16. During the session, it traded between 1,606.72 and 1,620.76. Across Bursa Malaysia, 648 counters declined and 430 advanced, with another 501 ending unchanged. Trading volume reached 3.15 billion units, compared with 2.95 billion previously, while turnover rose from RM2.43 billion to RM2.68 billion.
Maybank finished at RM10.02, Public Bank at RM4.75 and CIMB at RM6.91, each gaining two sen. Tenaga Nasional held at RM13.30, while IHH Healthcare remained at RM7.85. Kuala Lumpur Kepong led the gainers with a 44-sen increase to RM20.96. Malaysian Pacific Industries lost RM1.72, closing at RM39.78.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama that regional trading was mixed. He linked declines in Japan and South Korea to renewed concerns about artificial intelligence-related investment, while selected technology stocks attracted bargain buying in Hong Kong. Thong said domestic investors continued to weigh company earnings, high crude prices and external uncertainty. He also pointed to Brent crude exceeding US$116 per barrel amid renewed supply disruptions in West Asia.
