Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, tracking Wall Street's rally last Friday, which was driven by significant gains in Apple shares following its announcement of planned investments in the United States.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, at 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 1.05 points, or 0.07 percent, reaching 1,558.03, up from last Friday's close of 1,556.98. The benchmark index had initially opened 0.76 of a point higher at 1,557.74. Despite the positive opening, market breadth was negative, with 128 decliners surpassing 121 gainers, while 287 counters remained unchanged, 1,987 were untraded, and nine were suspended. The turnover recorded was 103.16 million shares, valued at RM42.80 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, commented on the trading pattern, noting that it is predominantly influenced by traders' interpretation of ongoing tariff dynamics affecting the US economy. He also highlighted that the US 10-year yield had increased to 4.285 percent. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index experienced a decline to the 24,850 level, attributed to profit-taking activities and concerns over disappointing corporate earnings and deflationary fears in China.
Thong Pak Leng also mentioned that the FBM KLCI had maintained its upward trend, closing near the 1,560 mark last Friday. He observed that buying activity was broad-based, although it was primarily focused on laggards. Despite the positive index performance, the daily trading volume was below expectations, at approximately 2.49 billion shares. He anticipates the index to fluctuate within the 1,550-1,560 range today.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose by 4.0 sen to RM9.65, Public Bank gained 1.0 sen to RM4.34, and CIMB increased by 3.0 sen to RM6.89. In contrast, Tenaga Nasional decreased by 8.0 sen to RM13.72, and IHH Healthcare dropped by 5.0 sen to RM6.91. On the actively traded list, Classita and Magma both increased by 1.5 sen to 9.5 sen and 41 sen respectively, while Capitaland inched up by half-a-sen to 61.5 sen. NexG and Vantris Energy remained flat at 53.5 sen and 4.0 sen, respectively.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index rose by 8.0 points to 11,609.79, the FBMT 100 Index increased by 8.47 points to 11,388.38, and the FBM Mid 70 Index advanced by 15.66 points to 16,521.19. However, the FBM ACE Index slightly decreased by 0.31 points to 4,606.57, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell by 3.68 points to 11,630.50. By sector, the Financial Services Index strengthened by 39.26 points to 17,620.08, the Plantation Index climbed 13.38 points to 7,439.50, and the Industrial Products and Services Index improved by 0.16 points to 157.92. Nevertheless, the Energy Index slid by 0.08 points to 736.64.