KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher today despite a weaker Wall Street overnight performance, ahead of the United States (US) inflation data later this week, as many expect this will dictate the Federal Reserve’s stance on possible rate cuts.
At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.45 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 1,569.69 from yesterday’s close of 1,563.24.
The benchmark index had earlier opened 1.41 points lower at 1,561.83.
Market breadth was positive, with advancers leading gainers 125 to 88. Another 238 counters were unchanged, 2,070 untraded and eight suspended.
Turnover stood at 144.19 million shares worth RM49.14 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said as expected, the US has extended its tariff deadline on China by another 90 days.
“The US 10-year yield eased slightly to 4.279 per cent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended marginally higher amid a lacklustre trading session as sentiment remained cautious ahead of the expiration of the US-China tariff truce today,” he told Bernama.
Back home, he sees the tariff deadline extension on China as a positive catalyst and believes that the US may eventually relent.
“Hence, we expect the index to hover between the 1,555-1,570 range today,” he added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added six sen to RM9.71, CIMB perked up two sen to RM6.96 but Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare fell two sen each to RM13.64 and RM6.94, while Public Bank was flat at RM4.40.
On the actively traded list, Classita put on 1.5 sen to 10.5 sen, NexG bagged 2.5 sen to 40 sen, Pharmaniaga and Magma inched up half-a-sen to 18.5 sen and 40 sen, respectively, while TWL was flat at 2.5 sen.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index expanded 34.18 points to 11,681.31, the FBMT 100 Index widened 34.22 points to 11,463.94, the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 34.49 points to 11,682.16, while the FBM ACE Index trimmed 0.01 of a point to 4,620.21 and the FBM Mid 70 Index weakened 7.22 points to 16,588.42.
By sector, the Financial Services Index climbed 58.89 points to 17,786.72, the Plantation Index advanced 52.95 points to 7,517.03, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.52 of a point better at 159.30, and the Energy Index appreciated 1.64 points to 737.0. - Bernama
