Bursa Malaysia opens higher on bargain hunting, pares gains

At 9.10am, the benchmark index eased 0.13 of a point to 1,666.81 from Monday’s close of 1,666.94. — Picture by Hari Anggara

First Published: Tuesday, 22 Sep 2026 9:55 AM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Tuesday but retreated thereafter,  supported by bargain hunting as easing tensions in West Asia helped lift sentiment and pushed Brent crude oil prices lower.

At 9.10am, the benchmark index eased 0.13 of a point to 1,666.81 from Monday’s close of 1,666.94.

The index opened 2.80 points higher at 1,669.74.

Market breadth was positive, with gainers leading losers 265 to 150. A total of 294 counters were unchanged, 2,164 untraded and 11 suspended.

Turnover stood at 314.78 million shares worth RM148.07 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of Equity Research Thong Pak Leng said he viewed the local bourse as ripe for stock picking following its weak performance last week.

“Market valuation remains decent, currently at below the 16.5 times price-to-earnings average.

“For today, we expect such buying interest to continue, hence we expect the index to trend between the 1,665 and 1,680 levels,” he told Bernama.

Thong noted that the banking and plantation sectors remained at the top of the firm’s buying list.

Among heavyweights, Maybank rose two sen to RM10.40, CIMB added four sen to RM7.69, Public Bank eased one sen to RM4.78, Tenaga Nasional fell 10 sen to RM12.94, and IHH Healthcare remained unchanged at RM7.62.

As for the top actives, BMS increased 1.5 sen to 15 sen, AirAsia gained two sen to 55 sen and Kinergy Advancement edged up half a sen to 40.5 sen, while AIMAX and Zetrix AI were both flat at one sen and 20 sen, respectively.

Among the top gainers, Fraser & Neave was 50 sen higher at RM23.10, Petron Malaysia advanced 21 sen to RM4, Malaysian Pacific Industries firmed 18 sen to RM42.98, while Pentamaster and MI Technovation both strengthened 16 sen to RM5.56 and RM5.82, respectively.

Of the top losers, Nestle dropped 48 sen to RM89.22, Allianz Malaysia was 20 sen lower at RM21.10, United Plantations reduced 12 sen to RM33.30, Tenaga Nasional shed 10 sen to RM12.94, and Sunway Healthcare lost nine sen to RM2.20.

On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index rose 51.93 points to 17,741.07, the FBM Emas Index added 12.17 points to 12,410.78, the FBM Top 100 Index inched up 8.48 points to 12,198.93, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 8.07 points to 12,244.83, while the FBM ACE Index advanced 19.87 points to 5,336.30.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index put on 0.69 of a point to 184.19, and the Energy Index improved 2.14 points to 847.57.

The Financial Services Index climbed 25.65 points to 19,517.12, and the Plantation Index added 1.10 points to 9,411.59. — Bernama