KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — Bursa Malaysia continued its uptrend on positive investor sentiment driven by Malaysia’s strong second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) and January-July 2024 trade figures.

At lunch break, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 1.10 per cent or 17.83 points to 1,641.73 from Friday’s close of 1,623.90. The index surpassed the previous high of 1,641.17, recorded on December 24, 2020, marking a level not seen in about three years and eight months.

The FBM KLCI opened 1.24 points firmer at 1,625.14 and moved between 1,624.58 and 1,644.08 throughout the morning session.

On the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 548 to 449, with 435 counters unchanged, 1,063 untraded, and 22 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.29 billion units valued at RM1.79 billion.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said that the market bellwether is likely to continue its upward momentum following the release of strong Malaysia GDP data last week, especially with improved sentiment in the second half of 2024.

"Additionally, we expect the consumer and shipping sectors to benefit from the stronger ringgit.

"Given the positive environment in the United States, we expect buying interest to emerge in the local technology sector and banking stocks, which rallied on Friday,” it said in a note today.

Furthermore, the stockbroking firm remains optimistic about the construction, property, building materials, and utilities sectors ahead of the earnings season.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s January-July trade in 2024 grew by 9.8 per cent year-on-year to hit RM1.652 trillion, the highest value recorded for the period, said the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry today.

Exports increased by 5.1 per cent to RM862.23 billion and imports by 15.5 per cent to RM789.71 billion during the seven months, resulting in a trade surplus of RM72.52 billion, it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 22.0 sen to RM10.48, CIMB Group increased 21.0 sen to RM7.87, Tenaga Nasional went up 6.0 sen to RM13.92, and Public Bank added 20.0 sen to RM4.49.

IHH Healthcare was flat at RM6.30.

Among the actives,Top Glove rose 6.0 sen to RM1.01, My E.G. Services climbed 1.5 sen to 93.0 sen, Velocity Capital and TWL Holdings edged up half-a-sen to 6.5 sen and 3.0 sen respectively, while Cape EMS fell half-a-sen sen to 41.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index surged 127.24 points to 12,462.37, the FBMT 100 Index soared 129.91 points to 12,106.00, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased by 37.02 points to 12,439.06, and the FBM 70 Index advanced 187.57 points to 18,031.22.

Meanwhile, the FBM ACE Index edged up 7.54 points to 5,406.52.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index jumped 505.51 points to 18,925.23, the Energy Index added 0.28 of-a-point to 952.38, while the Industrial Products and Services Index eased by 0.52 of-a-point to 183.27, and the Plantation Index fell 23.73 points to 7,160.27. — Bernama