Bursa Malaysia Opens Higher Amid Mixed Wall Street Overnight

By Karina Imran

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Wednesday amid Wall Street’s mixed performance overnight as traders expect a potentially less aggressive rate cuts by the United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) next month, said an analyst. 

At 9.15 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched up 0.57 points to 1,643.11 from Tuesday's close of 1,642.54.

bootstrap slideshow

The benchmark index opened 1.67 points firmer at 1,644.21.

On the broader market, decliners surpassed advancers 215 to 161, while 286 counters remained unchanged, 1,841 untraded and 15 suspended.

Turnover stood at 372.65 million units, valued at RM149.67 million.

bootstrap slideshow

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's equity research vice-president, Thong Pak Leng attributed the mixed sentiment on Wall Street to traders digesting the ongoing earnings reports, while noting that the US Treasury 10-year yield inched higher at 4.20 per cent.

"Meanwhile, the FBM KLCI maintained its consolidation pattern to close lower on Tuesday as many are still pondering the after-effects of Budget 2025. 

"Daily volume traded remains low as we enter into the earnings season in a cautious mood," he told Bernama.

As such, Thong anticipates trading to stay lacklustre today, with the index hovering within 1,640 - 1,650.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB Group were flat at RM10.62 and RM8.16, respectively. 

Public Bank and IHH Healthcare gained one sen each to RM4.56 and RM7.24, respectively, while Tenaga Nasional slipped two sen to RM14.44. 

As for the active counters, Ingenieur Gudang edged up half-a-sen to 5.5 sen, Capital A and Niche Capital Emas added one sen to 98.5 sen and 18.5 sen, respectively, JCY International eased half-a-sen to 41 sen and Dataprep was flat at 17 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 6.33 points to 12,372.60, the FBM ACE Index inched up 0.16 of-a-point to 5,102.07, the FBMT 100 Index increased 7.23 points to 12,078.82, the FBM 70 Index garnered 21.83 points to 17,852.13 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 6.97 points to 12,307.44.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index edged down 0.09 of-a-point to 859.24, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased by 0.02 of-a-point to 177.26, and the Plantation Index declined 5.69 points to 7,271.17, while the Financial Services Index improved by 21.60 points to 19,476.12. 

-- BERNAMA