Bursa Malaysia Opens Higher, Tracking Positive Wall Street Performance

By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher in line with the positive Wall Street performance after US Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell indicated a shift in rates policy going forward, said an analyst.

At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 6.12 points to 1,641.86 from Friday’s close of 1,635.74.

The index opened 4.08 points higher at 1,639.82.

In the broader market, gainers led decliners by 250 to 104, with 232 counters remaining unchanged, 1,940 untraded, and 17 suspended.

Turnover reached 102.94 million units valued at RM69.42 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said buying interest should resume today despite the index ending in negative territory last Friday, amid the firm momentum from Wall Street coupled with dovish statement from the Fed.

“Therefore, we expect the index to hover within the 1,635-1,645 range today.

“Recent news that Amazon Web Services will invest US$6.2 billion (US$1=RM4.35) in Malaysia should add further impetus to the already burgeoning technology sector as we anticipate the floodgates to remain open,” he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga gained six sen each to RM10.50 and RM13.78, respectively, Public Bank added two sen to RM4.55, and CIMB bagged four sen to RM7.93, while IHH fell two sen to RM6.31.

Among the actives, Elridge and JCY were 1.5 sen higher at 42 sen and 58.5 sen, respectively, WCT climbed 5.5 sen to RM1.01, Velesto inched up half-a-sen to 21.5 sen, and MYEG edged up one sen to 90 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 54.18 points to 12,387.99, the FBMT 100 Index increased 52.22 points to 12,065.67, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index strengthened by 47.19 points to 12,309.24.

The FBM 70 Index improved 104.10 points to 17,818.54 and the FBM ACE Index added 12.74 points to 5,228.43.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index gained 20.67 points to 7,220.84, the Energy Index advanced 11.70 points to 933.23, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.66 of-a-point to 182.26, and the Financial Services Index firmed by 73.77 points to 19,094.42. 

-- BERNAMA