KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia surged 1.1 per cent on Tuesday as the market rally gathered steam with almost all sectors led by the energy counters recording gains.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) garnered 16.98 points to 1,555.59 to end at its intraday high, compared with Monday's close of 1,538.61.

The benchmark index opened 0.11 of-a-point higher at 1,538.72 and subsequently hit an intraday low of 1,537.94.

The market breadth also exhibited continued improvement with gainers edging losers 594 to 419, while 460 counters were unchanged, 825 untraded and nine others suspended.

Turnover expanded to 3.68 billion units worth RM2.94 billion from Monday's 3.48 billion units worth RM2.07 billion.

Head of wealth research & advisory, designated portfolio manager at UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors, Mohd Sedek Jantan said the energy sector is moving in line with Brent crude oil currently at US$83 per barrel, marking its highest point in 2024.

"With the corporate earnings of FBM KLCI components scheduled for this week and the next, traders are on the lookout for opportunities within the fundamentally strong companies.

"Furthermore, this afternoon's release of Malaysia's external trade data for January 2024 revealed positive export figures, suggesting potential increases in productivity and corporate earnings, thereby underlining the fundamental strength of Malaysia's economy," he said.

Therefore, Mohd Sedek expects foreign investors to continue to be net buyers this month.

However, caution is expected for the FBM KLCI tomorrow as investors await clues from the release of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes, he added.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng added that investors' optimism was also reignited by the recovery in major regional markets, fuelled by late buying, following China's decision to lower its five-year loan prime rate by 25 basis points to 3.95 per cent," he told Bernama.

He said while the market remains positive, potential profit-taking activities may emerge following the sharp gains.

"As such, we have raised our weekly FBM KLCI target range to between 1,540 and 1,560, with immediate resistance at 1,570 and support at 1,530," he added.

On the local bourse, index-linked heavyweights gained traction with 27 counters in the positive territory led by Petronas Chemicals, which rose 25 sen to RM7.09.

YTL Power and Sime Darby bagged 12 sen each to RM3.92 and RM2.63 respectively, Public Bank was five sen higher at RM4.48, Tenaga Nasional advanced 16 sen to RM11.36, while Axiata jumped 10 sen to RM2.89.

As for the actives, Dialog soared 34 sen to RM2.20, while TWL and Ekovest were down half-a-sen to 3.0 sen and 51.5 sen respectively, Hong Seng was flat at 2.0 sen, Bumi Armada gained 3.5 sen to 59.5 sen, while Velesto improved 1.5 sen to 28 sen.

 - Bernama