Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Monday, mirroring the gains seen on Wall Street, which closed broadly higher last week, an analyst reported. At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 2.56 points to 1,611.61, up from last Friday's closing of 1,609.50. The benchmark index showed a slight rise of 0.70 of-a-point at the opening, reaching 1,609.75.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the market breadth was positive, with 206 gainers outnumbering 123 losers. Additionally, 316 counters remained unchanged, 2,003 were untraded, and 124 were suspended. The turnover stood at 247.78 million units, valued at RM66.90 million.
Rakuten Trade vice-president Thong Pak Leng informed Bernama that Wall Street's sentiment was buoyed by the latest personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index meeting expectations. This development suggests that the US Federal Reserve will maintain its easing policy. Meanwhile, the US 10-year Treasury yield experienced a slight increase to 4.174 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index (HSI) continued to decline, hovering just above the 26,000 level, as traders expressed caution regarding its valuations amidst US President Donald Trump's recent tariffs. On the domestic front, Thong noted that the FBM KLCI closed strongly due to late buying activities.
Thong further stated that buying activities are expected to persist, with more foreign funds seeking value propositions. He anticipates the index to trend within the 1,605-1,615 range for the day. Additionally, gold prices have reached a record high, poised to test US$3,800 per ounce.
Among the heavyweights, Petronas Gas rose by 28 sen to RM18.78, IHH Healthcare gained 11 sen to RM7.56, SD Guthrie increased by seven sen to RM5.31, Maybank added four sen to RM9.93, and Public Bank saw a rise of two sen to RM4.36.
In terms of active trade, EA Holdings and TWL remained flat at half-a-sen and 2.5 sen, respectively. MTouche Technology and Luster Industries saw gains of a sen each, reaching 7.5 sen and 5.5 sen, respectively, while SNS Network Technology firmed by 1.5 sen to 68.5 sen.
Top gainers included Nestle, which climbed 94 sen to RM96.98, F and N increasing by 30 sen to RM27.50, KESM Industries rising by 28 sen to RM18.78, followed by Petronas Gas, and Malaysian Pacific Industries, which advanced by 24 sen to RM29.54.
Among the top losers were Pentamaster, which fell by eight sen to RM3.72, Allianz dropping by six sen to RM18.32, Kerjaya Prospek declining by six sen to RM2.41, PPB Group falling by four sen to RM10.08, and Visdynamic decreasing by four sen to 22 sen.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index added 23.76 points to 12,017.20, the FBMT 100 Index gained 22.95 points to 11,747.99, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased by 15.00 points to 12,063.47, the FBM 70 Index climbed 51.58 points to 16,901.93, and the FBM ACE Index advanced 4.95 points to 5,205.41.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.13 of-a-point to 173.89, the Energy Index gained 2.40 points to 784.92, the Financial Services Index ticked up 57.64 points to 18,241.48, and the Plantation Index appreciated by 37.66 points to 7,800.31.