Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Wednesday, buoyed by improved investor sentiment in anticipation of Malaysia's advance estimate for the second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP). The local market also mirrored Wall Street's mostly positive performance.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, at 9.15 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.15 points to 1,723.09 from Tuesday's close of 1,719.94, following an initial rise of 0.72 of a point at 1,720.66. The broader market saw gainers outnumbering losers 272 to 142, with 338 counters unchanged, 1,951 untraded, and 11 suspended. Turnover was recorded at 372.28 million shares valued at RM157.76 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng, noted that Wall Street's higher close was primarily influenced by a rebound in semiconductor stocks. Weaker-than-expected US inflation data for June also eased concerns over a potential interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve, leading to a dip in the US 10-year Treasury yield to 4.587 per cent.
Despite ongoing tensions and uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, which have driven Brent crude prices to nearly US$85 per barrel, most regional markets performed relatively well. This performance might be supported by the return of foreign funds to Asia, with renewed interest in Petronas Chemicals, which saw a 10 per cent jump the previous day. However, Thong cautioned that the sustainability of this performance remains uncertain, predicting the index to range between 1,710-1,725 for the day.
In terms of heavyweight stocks, Maybank increased by eight sen to RM11.08, CIMB rose two sen to RM7.79, and IHH Healthcare added one sen to RM8.46. Meanwhile, Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional remained unchanged at RM5.05 and RM14.40, respectively, and Petronas Chemicals saw a slight decrease of six sen to RM4.73.
Among active counters, Tanco gained seven sen to 38.5 sen, PA Resources added 2.5 sen to 21 sen, NationGate rose three sen to 98.5 sen, and Thriven Global edged up half a sen to 12 sen. On the other hand, Enest fell by one sen to 12 sen.
In the list of top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries rose by 42 sen to RM44.82, Fraser and Neave climbed 30 sen to RM29.58, Nestle increased by 24 sen to RM90.74, and Allianz was up 18 sen to RM20.82. Conversely, LPI Capital and Hong Leong Bank were among the top losers, each falling by eight sen to RM15.30 and RM22.16, respectively. Press Metal decreased by seven sen to RM8.12, Petronas Gas dropped six sen to RM17.82, and Gas Malaysia eased four sen to RM5.16.
In the broader indices, the FBM Emas Index rose by 37.25 points to 12,699.18, the FBMT Top 100 Index increased by 36.87 points to 12,535.53, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up by 42.65 points to 12,534.69. The FBM Mid 70 Index saw a climb of 112.36 points to 17,909.38, whereas the FBM ACE Index slightly decreased by 0.38 of a point to 4,861.68.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index advanced by 35.75 points to 20,275.25, the Plantation Index rose by 75.55 points to 9,443.97, and the Energy Index increased by 1.44 points to 775.09. However, the Industrial Products and Services Index declined by 0.54 of a point to 187.97.