KUALA LUMPUR (April 25): Bursa Malaysia stocks remained above the key 1,500-point psychological level for a second consecutive day on Friday, despite reports of unauthorised access and trading activity involving several online trading accounts.
The benchmark FBM KLCI, which opened 5.12 points or 0.34% higher at 1,511.64, eased slightly to 1,506.94 at the midday break, and thereafter closed up 2.68 points or 0.18% at 1,509.20, with 18 out of 30 component stocks in positive territory.
The Technology Index led the gains, rising 4.51% to 47.73 points. Bursa Malaysia’s overall market breadth was positive, with 651 gainers compared to 325 decliners.
"The ongoing rally is being driven by small- and mid-cap stocks, with sector rotation visible across various small-cap counters," said Pheim Asset Management fund manager Khoo Zing Sheng.
He added that the "risk-on" sentiment, fuelled by eased trade war concerns and a Bloomberg report on China's possible tariff exemptions for US goods, sparked optimism and provided relief to global markets.
"The FBM KLCI pared earlier gains amid profit-taking in energy and banking heavyweights," said Rakuten equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng.
However, he remains optimistic, noting that news on easing US-China trade tensions are expected to reduce market volatility and boost investor confidence.
The rise in Malaysian equities mirrored gains in regional markets, including Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (+0.32%), Japan’s Nikkei 225 (+1.9%), South Korea’s Kospi (+0.95%), and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index (+0.99%).
The regional uptick followed a strong overnight rally on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 surged 2%, marking its highest level since the start of the Trump-era tariffs.
Domestically, top government officials are reassessing the nation’s economic growth forecast in light of tariff impacts. A statement by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry of Malaysia on Friday said that it is open to more talks to narrow the US trade deficit with Malaysia, address non-tariff barriers and explore potential bilateral trade agreement.
Stocks hit by hacking incident struggle
Among the stocks affected by Thursday’s (April 24) hacking incident, Bina Puri Holdings Bhd (KL:BPURI) was the hardest hit, plunging over 42% to an intraday low of 21.5 sen — its lowest in 19 months — on heavy trading. It later closed at 26.5 sen, still down 11 sen or 29%, with over 54 million shares changing hands.
Bina Puri-Warrant B also dropped more than 61% to 18.5 sen.
Pos Malaysia Bhd (KL:POS), another affected stock, fell three sen or 10.3% to 26 sen, with 16.3 million shares traded.
Meanwhile, five Hong Kong structured warrants, reportedly impacted by the hacking incident, were among the most actively traded on Friday, with Hang Seng (HSI-CWC4) leading the list, down 2.5 sen or 21.7% to nine sen.