Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia saw an uplift in the morning session as the improved sentiment following the US Federal Reserve's rate cut buoyed market activities, aligning with the overnight gains observed on Wall Street. At midday, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) climbed 7.00 points, or 0.43%, reaching 1,618.00, up from the previous close of 1,611.00 on Wednesday.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Wall Street experienced a rise on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve implemented its third rate cut of 25 basis points this year. Nevertheless, policymakers exhibited uncertainty regarding future directions. The decision revealed internal divisions, as three members of the Federal Open Market Committee dissented-two advocating for a pause and one supporting a more substantial 50 basis points cut. Market attention has also shifted towards President Donald Trump's final-round interviews for the upcoming Fed Chair position.
In its analysis, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd anticipates a rebound in the FBM KLCI, with the consumer and financial sectors predicted to gain. Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank increased by six sen to RM10.18, Public Bank rose by four sen to RM4.41, CIMB Group advanced by 11 sen to RM7.93, while Tenaga Nasional remained unchanged at RM12.74 and IHH Healthcare dropped five sen to RM8.35.
Activity in the broader market showed decliners leading gainers 516 to 403, with 477 stocks unchanged, 1,362 untraded, and 16 suspended. Turnover was recorded at 2.02 billion shares valued at RM1.14 billion. On the active list, Borneo Oil was steady at half-a-sen, BMS Holdings appreciated by two sen to 21 sen, VS Industry gained two sen to 52 sen, Gamuda fell by 28 sen to RM4.85, and Pharmaniaga edged up 1.5 sen to 25 sen.
Top gainers included Kuala Lumpur Kepong, which rose 30 sen to RM19.50, Westports, up 19 sen to RM5.64, ITMAX, which gained 17 sen to RM4.70, Telekom Malaysia, up 16 sen to RM7.88, and SD Guthrie, which increased by 16 sen to RM5.42. In contrast, top decliners were led by Nestle, which dropped 40 sen to RM114.60, Malaysian Pacific Industries, which fell 24 sen to RM31.94, Petronas Gas, down 18 sen to RM17.08, VSTECS, which decreased by 13 sen to RM3.92, and PGF Capital, which declined nine sen to RM1.85.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose by 32.56 points to 11,949.47, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased by 8.77 points to 11,797.65. The FBMT 100 Index added 38.13 points to 11,739.40, while the FBM ACE Index slipped 20.94 points to 4,710.18, and the FBM 70 Index eased 1.99 points to 16,649.08. Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged by 135.83 points to 19,054.23, the Plantation Index strengthened by 88.71 points to 8,151.54, and the Energy Index added 2.99 points to 760.42. Conversely, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down by 0.17 points to 166.82.