KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (Bernama) — Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index was up 0.19 per cent at lunch break, with the broader market remaining positive, driven by anticipation of the United States (US) Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate decision later today.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 3.12 points to 1,603.25 from last Friday’s close of 1,600.13.
The index opened 2.09 points higher at 1,602.22, and traded between 1,599.61 and 1,604.25 throughout the morning trading session.
The optimism on the broader market saw gainers exceeding losers 599 to 405, while 470 counters were unchanged, 1,144 untraded and seven suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.89 billion shares worth RM1.49 billion.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the market widely expects the Fed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, despite stronger-than-expected US retail sales for August.
This is likely to keep Wall Street’s performance positive, which could benefit sectors such as Real Estate Investment Trusts and consumer discretionary, the research firm said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga were two sen lower at RM9.85 and RM13.36, respectively. Public Bank added three sen to RM4.28, CIMB jumped 14 sen to RM7.51 and IHH gained seven sen to RM7.32.
In active trade, Pharmaniaga increased 1.5 sen to 26.5 sen, Zetrix Ai and VS Industry rose by two sen each to 88 sen and 56.5 sen, respectively, while Tanco and Ekovest bagged one sen each to 83.5 sen and 38.5 sen, respectively.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index improved 40.07 points to 11,902.79, the FBMT 100 Index gained 36.07 points to 11,659.84, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 12.54 points to 11,902.83.
The FBM 70 Index surged 110.94 points to 16,655.52, while the FBM ACE Index added 18.31 points to 4,820.58.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased 1.03 points to 166.31, the Plantation Index advanced by 4.26 points to 7,703.80, the Financial Services Index rose by 96.80 points to 18,165.22, and the Energy Index climbed 10.05 points to 752.95.
— BERNAMA
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