KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 – Bursa Malaysia extended its upward momentum to close higher on Monday, October 12, 2026, spearheaded by bargain hunting in key banking stocks following government measures under Budget 2027 designed to stimulate SME lending, housing finance, and credit expansion.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 9.56 points, or 0.59 per cent, to close at 1,618.01, compared to Friday’s closing level of 1,608.45.
After opening 3.34 points higher at 1,611.03, the benchmark index moved between an intraday low of 1,608.91 and a high of 1,619.30 during the trading session.
Despite the key index’s strong finish, market breadth across the exchange remained cautious, with decliners outnumbering gainers 778 to 344, while 520 counters traded unchanged, 1,185 remained untraded, and 12 were suspended. Total turnover edged up to 3.36 billion units valued at RM2.91 billion, compared to 3.33 billion units worth RM2.90 billion on Friday.
Heavyweight Rally, Active Trading, and IDSS Suspension
Financial and consumer heavyweights anchored market gains, while leisure and technology manufacturing stocks faced selling pressure:
- Banking Heavyweights Drive Gains: Financial counters led the market’s upward drive, with Maybank jumping 14 sen to RM9.95, Public Bank adding nine sen to RM4.66, CIMB advancing four sen to RM7.30, and Tenaga Nasional rising 16 sen to RM13.04. IHH Healthcare closed flat at RM7.90.
- Active Trading Counters: Nationgate surged 16 sen to RM2.27 in active trade. Conversely, Zetrix AI and JAKS Resources eased one sen each to 7.5 sen and 17 sen, respectively, VS Industry dropped two sen to 32.5 sen, and Top Glove fell three sen to 81.5 sen.
- Top Market Gainers: Consumer giant Nestle topped the gainers’ list by surging 94 sen to RM91.10, followed by MISC (up 47 sen to RM8.06), Vitrox and MI Technovation (gaining 24 sen each to RM11.24 and RM7.02, respectively), and Hong Leong Financial (advancing 16 sen to RM17.46).
- Top Market Decliners & IDSS Suspension: Malaysian Pacific led the decliners after dropping RM1.06 to RM43.02, United Plantations lost 48 sen to RM30.22, Genting fell 43 sen to RM1.45, and YTL Power dropped 20 sen to RM5.50. Meanwhile, Genting Malaysia shed 26 sen to RM1.23, triggering an Intraday Short Selling (IDSS) suspension by Bursa Malaysia until Tuesday at 8:30 AM after falling over 15 per cent from its reference price.
Market analysts expect trading to remain focused on fiscal beneficiary sectors as parliamentary debates on Budget 2027 progress.
–NMT
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