Bursa Malaysia starts firmer despite Wall Street's mixed performance

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Tuesday despite Wall Street's mixed overnight performance, as investors focused on the United States (US) Federal Reserve's (Fed) semi-annual testimony to assess the US economic growth and monetary policy paths.

At 9.03 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.04 points to 1,615.06 from Friday's close of 1,611.02.

The benchmark index had opened 6.12 points firmer at 1,617.14.

The market was closed on Monday, July 8, 2024, in conjunction with the Awal Muharam replacement holiday.

On the broader market, gainers led decliners 205 to 127, with 377 counters unchanged, 1,695 untraded and six suspended.

Turnover stood at 153.56 million units worth RM88.03 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee said traders are looking forward to the US inflation data later this week amid elevated expectations that the Fed will cut rates twice this year.

"Back home, we expect buyers to emerge after a spate of late selling last Friday.

"Nonetheless, we believe sentiment may remain cautious following a weak regional performance yesterday; thus, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,610-1,620 range today," he told Bernama.

Bursa heavyweights Maybank and CIMB were flat at RM10.04 and RM6.95, respectively, while Tenaga Nasional dropped two sen to RM14.20.

Meanwhile, Public Bank gained six sen to RM4.10, and IHH Healthcare bagged two sen to RM6.34.

As for the most active counters, Bumi Armada rose three sen to 61 sen, K-One Technology increased two sen to 31.5 sen, and Aimflex added one sen to 20.5 sen, while Computer Forms was flat at 17.5 sen.

The newly debuted Johor Plantations Group Bhd on the Bursa Main Market today inched up half-a-sen to 84.5 sen, with 12.19 million shares changing hands.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 29.47 points to 12,474.47, the FBMT 100 Index strengthened 29.75 points to 12,042.63, the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 22.63 points to 12,829.51, the FBM 70 Index widened 44.23 points to 18,429.72 and the FBM ACE Index perked up 17.34 points to 5,983.65.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 60.33 points to 17,663.77, and the Industrial Products and Services Index went up 0.36 of-a-point to 200.28.

The Energy Index garnered 3.67 points to 990.42, and the Plantation Index bagged 9.78 points to 7,015.42.

-- BERNAMA

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