Bursa Malaysia Opens Lower After Fed Holds Rates Steady

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, despite a positive overnight performance on Wall Street, following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged while signalling potential easing in September if inflation subsides.

At 9.12 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell by 1.12 points to 1,624.45, from yesterday's close of 1,625.57.

The index had initially opened 0.30 points higher at 1,625.87.

In the broader market, gainers outpaced decliners with 309 advancing against 143 declining, while 304 counters remained unchanged, 1,662 were untraded and 19 were suspended.

Turnover was 236.64 million units, with a value of RM139.96 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said Wall Street's overnight performance was driven by the Nasdaq, bolstered by strong results from key chipmakers, which lifted semiconductor shares.

"In view of the better-than-expected results from US tech giants, this may generate decent buying interest in the local technology sector, with trading activities possibly focusing on data centres.

“We continue to favour Sarawak-related stocks as momentum builds," it said in a note today.

Additionally, Malacca Securities said CelcomDiGi's proposal to become the builder of Malaysia’s second 5G network could stimulate interest in telecommunication stocks.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd’s equity research vice-president, Thong Pak Leng, anticipates that buying activity will persist, drawing from Wall Street's robust overnight performance, with the index expected to fluctuate between 1,625 and 1,640.

Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors’ head of investment research, Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI is likely to extend its gains, supported by the Federal Reserve's firm stance on potential interest rate cuts as early as September. 

He forecasted a strong rebound for technology counters, driven by positive reports from Meta Platforms Inc and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

"We also foresee continued inflows from foreign buyers, which will further bolster market sentiment.

"We anticipate the benchmark index will range between 1,620 points and potentially surge to 1,640 points, reflecting a positive market outlook," he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank rose by 1.0 sen to RM4.22, while Maybank, Tenaga Nasional, CIMB Group, and IHH Healthcare remained unchanged at RM10.22, RM14.08, RM7.43, and RM6.30, respectively.

Among the actively traded stocks, Velesto Energy gained 1.0 sen to 22.5 sen, Cape EMS increased by 2.5 sen to 71 sen, and Bintai Kinden added half-a-sen to 13 sen. XOX and Borneo Oil remained steady at 37.5 sen and 1.0 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose by 2.58 points to 12,519.79, the FBMT 100 Index edged up by 0.27 points to 12,109.43, the FBM 70 Index increased by 31.98 points to 18,520.06, and the FBM ACE Index advanced by 45.12 points to 5,706.50.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index declined by 3.88 points to 12,758.58.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 9.22 points to 18,182.30, and the Construction Index rose by 0.54 points to 302.34. 

Conversely, the Healthcare Index fell by 7.44 points to 2,057.94, and the Plantation Index eased by 4.93 points to 7,198.71.

-- BERNAMA