KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 — Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index closed the year with modest gains, rising by 0.28 per cent and bucking the regional downtrend, thanks to strong buying momentum in selected heavyweights.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 4.65 points to 1,642.33 compared with Monday’s close of 1,637.68, marking a six-day winning streak.

The market bellwether opened 0.75 of-a-point higher at 1,638.43 and moved between 1,632.85 and 1,644.54 throughout the day.

The broader market, however, was negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 515 to 485, while 550 counters remained unchanged, 839 were untraded and 43 were suspended.

Turnover eased to 2.41 billion units valued at RM2.06 billion from 2.55 billion units valued at RM2.09 billion yesterday.

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said Asian markets ended on a cautious note, grappling with uncertainties over the US Federal Reserve’s policy trajectory for 2025 and the trade strategies of the incoming White House.

“However, the FBM KLCI bucked the overall regional downtrend, catching a tailwind from an uptick in China’s construction and services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) in December.

“This data, seen as a positive sign for commodity exporters like Malaysia, likely contributed to the modest gains observed at the index level, showcasing a resilient local market amid broader regional hesitancy,” he told Bernama.

China’s official PMI for December came in at 50.1.

On key regional markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dipped 0.96 per cent to 39,894.54, China’s SSE Composite Index fell 1.63 per cent to 3,351.76, Singapore’s Straits Times Index eased 0.21 per cent to 3,787.60, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched up 0.09 per cent to 20,059.95.

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank gained two sen to RM4.56, CIMB rose five sen to RM8.20, TNB jumped 10 sen to RM14.94, IHH Healthcare advanced seven sen to RM7.30, Hong Leong Bank surged 14 sen to RM20.56, Maybank was flat at RM10.24, and CelcomDigi declined eight sen to RM3.62.

For active stocks, Zen Tech International inched up half-a-sen to one sen, Harvest Miracle went up 2.5 sen to 16.5 sen, Velocity Capital was one sen higher at five sen, Microlink added two sen to 23.5 sen, TWL Holdings was flat at 2.5 sen, and MUI Properties slid 6.5 sen to 37 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index jumped 27.59 points to 12,585.51, the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 11.73 points to 12,590.57, and the FBMT 100 Index climbed 28.78 points to 12,265.96.

The FBM ACE Index surged 34.57 points to 5,380.44 and the FBM 70 Index put on 21.90 points to 18,841.13.

By sector, the Financial Services Index rose 63.22 points to 19,170.13, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.46 of-a-point to 176.45, the Plantation Index perked up 29.91 points to 7,649.06, and the Energy Index gave up 3.61 points to 822.93.

The Main Market volume improved to 1.44 billion units worth RM1.89 billion from Monday’s 1.42 billion units worth RM1.88 billion.

Warrants turnover tumbled to 513.26 million units valued at RM49.54 million from 702.78 million units valued at RM69.42 million previously.

The ACE Market volume expanded to 456.02 million units worth RM123.31 million versus 432.90 million units worth RM136.36 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 169.42 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (346.95 million), construction (118.94 million), technology (201.11 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (49.34 million), property (256.13 million), plantation (26.39 million), REITs (123.37 million), closed/fund (6,000), energy (91.47 million), healthcare (52.14 million), telecommunications and media (36.0 million), transportation and logistics (26.95 million), utilities (51.81 million), and business trusts (99,200). — Bernama