Maybank and Public Bank led the gains, rising 8 sen and 4 sen, respectively, to RM10.54 and RM4.57, contributing 2.94 points to the local benchmark index.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the local bourse, initially pressured by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, recovered as investors hunted for bargains.
He said late bargain hunting in banking, gaming and energy stocks helped lift the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI).
“Investors found value in selected counters, taking advantage of attractive stock valuations.
“Despite global uncertainties, market sentiment improved towards the end of the session, leading to renewed buying interest,” he told Bernama.
Thong added that the local equity market is expected to maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook.
“With undemanding valuations and improving economic conditions, further bargain hunting is likely.
“We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,630-1,645 range towards the weekend with immediate resistance at 1,670 and support at 1,635,” he added.
Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Sedek Jantan said despite growing enthusiasm among investors regarding China’s latest stimulus measures, their long-term effectiveness remains in question.
“Given the lacklustre outcomes of prior fiscal measures, concerns about the sustainability of the impact (of the latest stimulus) on the market are justified.
“Additionally, with the Chinese stock market closed for the Golden Week holiday this week, response to the latest stimulus package announced on Wednesday can only be assessed next week,” he said.
The FBM KLCI ticked up 2.24 points, or 0.14%, settling at 1,641.55 from yesterday’s close of 1,639.31.
The market bellwether opened 1.39 points higher at 1,640.70 and hovered between 1,630.45 and 1,643.82 throughout the trading session.
On the broader market, however, decliners outpaced gainers 504 to 473, with 545 counters unchanged, 890 untraded and 9 suspended.
Turnover slipped to 3.29 billion units valued at RM2.52 billion from yesterday’s 3.86 billion units worth RM2.73 billion.
Among other heavyweight stocks, CIMB Group added 1 sen to RM7.99, Petronas Chemicals gained 7 sen to RM5.77 and Tenaga Nasional slipped 2 sen to RM14.28.
IHH Healthcare and Hong Leong Bank were flat at RM7.24 and RM21.30, respectively.
Of the active stocks, Talam Transform eased 0.5 sen to 2 sen, Capital A fell 2.5 sen to 91 sen, MyEG dropped 1 sen to 88 sen and Focus Dynamics was flat at 2.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 3.62 points to 12,269.77, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 22.73 points to 12,181.4 and the FBMT 100 Index added 2.27 points to 11,963.29. The FBM 70 Index erased 49.1 points to 17,296.23 while the FBM ACE Index lost 10.07 points to 5,115.75.
By sector, the plantation index advanced 9.52 points to 7,181.57, the industrial products and services index earned 0.64 of-a-point to 176.82 while the energy index was 6.71 points better at 857.81.
The financial services index jumped 96.21 points to 19,261.05.
The Main Market volume declined to 1.41 billion units worth RM2.22 billion from yesterday’s 1.68 billion units worth RM2.34 billion.
Warrants turnover narrowed to 1.56 billion units valued at RM216.43 million from 1.76 billion units valued at RM280.83 million previously.
The ACE Market volume dropped to 306.83 million units worth RM77.76 million from 413.31 million units worth RM102.63 million.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 313.66 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (209.43 million), construction (182.59 million), technology (143.55 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (96.31 million), property (207.45 million), plantation (27.46 million), REITs (7.78 million), closed/fund (18,100), energy (68.23 million), healthcare (44.33 million), telecommunications and media (21.23 million), transportation and logistics (30.23 million), utilities (58.26 million), and business trusts (551,600).