KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened marginally higher on Wednesday, extending gains for a third straight session as it tracked Wall Street’s rally on hopes of a United States Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut, while investors awaited key inflation data due today and tomorrow.
At 9.06 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 0.77 of-a-point to 1,587.58 from Tuesday’s close of 1,586.81.
The index had opened 1.23 points firmer at 1,588.04.
Market breadth was positive, with 168 gainers outpacing 99 decliners. Another 247 counters were unchanged, 2,079 untraded and seven suspended.
Turnover stood at 104.41 million shares worth RM55.65 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended higher with all three major indices closing at record highs on prospects of a Fed rate cut, while investors awaited crucial inflation data.
“Market sentiment was further lifted by regional strength after Citigroup upgraded the Hang Seng index,” he said.
Back home, Thong noted the FBM KLCI remained in positive territory despite Maxis and MISC trading ex-dividend, underscoring resilient market undertones.
“We believe the benchmark index will re-test the 1,600 level soon. For today, we expect it to hover between 1,585 and 1,600,” he added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose two sen to RM10.06, Public Bank edged up one sen to RM4.30, Tenaga Nasional gained six sen to RM13.16, and IHH Healthcare was one sen higher at RM6.95, while CIMB was flat at RM7.16.
In active trade, Classita advanced one sen to 9.5 sen and its warrant added half-a-sen to 3.5 sen, NexG improved half-a-sen to 49 sen, OCK Group warrant slipped one sen to five sen and Cahya Mata Sarawak gained five sen to RM1.25.
Top gainers included United Plantations, which added 22 sen to RM22.56, UWC up 14 sen to RM3.04, Petronas Gas higher by 10 sen at RM18.70 and QL Resources up six sen to RM4.28.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index rose 8.10 points to 11,780.94, the FBMT 100 Index gained 7.81 points to 11,545.30 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 13.10 points to 11,759.16.
The FBM 70 Index climbed 20.73 points to 16,489.09, while the FBM ACE Index was 3.70 points higher at 4,724.54.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.15 of-a-point to 165.08, the Plantation Index fell 8.56 points to 7,660.22 and the Financial Services Index slipped 0.95 of a point to 18,126.37. The Energy Index rose 2.05 points to 742.44.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
