Bursa’s key index ends at intraday high on continued buying support

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia's key index closed at an intraday high today, supported by continued buying interest even as renewed geopolitical tensions and a weaker overnight lead from Wall Street, following the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) decision to stand pat on interest rates, weighed on broader sentiment.The Fed has decided to hold rates steady for the fifth consecutive meeting, with the Federal Funds Rate unchanged between 3.50% and 3.75%.IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Sedek Jantan said the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed higher as investors rotated into consumer and plantation stocks despite weaker Wall Street sentiment.“The local market diverged from its regional peers, with selective buying in defensive and commodity-linked sectors providing support to the benchmark index,” he told Bernama.However, he noted that investor sentiment remained cautious following the rebound in crude oil prices, driven by renewed hostilities between the US and Iran, which reignited concerns over potential supply disruptions and broader geopolitical risks.“While the domestic market demonstrated resilience, escalating tensions in West Asia continue to cloud the near-term outlook and could keep volatility elevated across regional equities,” he added.At 5pm, the FBM KLCI rose 4.84 points to 1,720.40 from yesterday’s close of 1,715.56.The benchmark index, which opened 1.14 points lower at 1,714.42, hit its lowest level of 1,710.69 in early trade before gaining momentum for the rest of the day.However, the broader market was negative with losers outpacing gainers 581 to 411, while 612 counters were unchanged, 1,173 untraded, and 87 suspended.Turnover declined to 2.49 billion units valued at RM2.25 billion from 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.48 billion yesterday.Among heavyweights, Maybank, Tenaga Nasional and CIMB added two sen each to RM10.88, RM14.62 and RM7.83 respectively, Public Bank inched up one sen to RM5.16, while IHH Healthcare was unchanged at RM8.35.Of the active stocks, Zetrix AI perked up one sen to 71.5 sen, Steel Hawk gained 1.5 sen to 23 sen, while VS Industry shed 1.5 sen to 22 sen, and HHRG and Tanco Holdings both slid one sen to 12.5 sen and 24.5 sen respectively.As for the top gainers, Nestle advanced RM2.72 to RM99.50, Fraser & Neave Holdings garnered 60 sen to RM28, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose 44 sen to RM21.…