Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher with minor bargain-hunting activities, reflecting a positive sentiment influenced by Wall Street’s overnight performance.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 0.54 points to 1,611.49 at 9.10 am, compared to the previous day’s close of 1,610.95. The index began the day 0.87 points higher at 1,611.82. Market breadth was positive, with 208 gainers surpassing 126 losers, while 303 counters remained unchanged, 1,978 were untraded, and 81 suspended. The turnover was recorded at 213.66 million units valued at RM77.74 million.
Rakuten Trade vice-president Thong Pak Leng noted that Wall Street’s sentiment improved due to interest in artificial intelligence-related stocks, despite earlier concerns about the AI sector’s growth. Traders are also keeping an eye on the potential United States government shutdown scheduled for Wednesday, which could result in a significant furlough of federal employees. Meanwhile, the US 10-year Treasury yield slightly decreased to 4.141 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index witnessed a rebound as traders invested in automobile manufacturers, solar energy companies, and metal producers, with signs indicating that Beijing’s measures against price wars are proving effective. Furthermore, the People’s Bank of China’s commitment to enhance easing measures to bolster growth provided additional support.
Thong also mentioned that the FBM KLCI ended slightly higher on Monday despite muted buying activity. Foreign funds might have shifted to net selling after encouraging net foreign inflows observed a few weeks earlier. Thong anticipated the index to fluctuate between 1,605 and 1,615 on the day. Additionally, gold prices reached another record high, surpassing US$3,800 per ounce.
Among the heavyweights, Press Metal Aluminium and Gamuda saw an increase of three sen each, reaching RM5.94 and RM5.55, respectively. YTL Power International, Petronas Chemicals, and SD Guthrie each gained two sen, ending at RM4.20, RM4.37, and RM5.26, respectively.
In terms of active trading, NexG Bina rose by half-a-sen to 10 sen, while TWL, Trive, and JS Solar remained flat at 2.5 sen, 1.5 sen, and 42 sen, respectively. Notion Vtec advanced by 4.5 sen to 64.5 sen.
Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which climbed 18 sen to RM29.28, United Plantations increased 16 sen to RM23.02, Plenitude rose 13 sen to RM2.35, Panasonic Manufacturing expanded 11 sen to RM8.65, and Malaysian Cement went up by 10 sen to RM7.05. On the losing side, Nestle fell by 58 sen to RM96.52, F and N dropped 12 sen to RM27.18, Crescendo decreased seven sen to RM1.38, and Kawan Food lost six sen to RM1.01.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index gained 11.14 points to 11,999.59, the FBMT 100 Index added 8.16 points to 11,732.12, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased by 25.98 points to 12,035.62, and the FBM 70 Index rose by 30.26 points to 16,814.11. However, the FBM ACE Index fell by 6.22 points to 5,183.64.
In the sectoral performance, the Industrial Products and Services Index went up by 0.59 points to 172.34, the Energy Index advanced by 4.78 points to 783.04, the Plantation Index increased by 16.91 points to 7,788.48, while the Financial Services Index decreased by 21.58 points to 18,242.30.