Bursa Malaysia Rebounds, Takes Lead From Wall Street

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded from two consecutive days of losses to open higher on Thursday, with buying interest emerging, tracking the lead from Wall Street’s overnight performance.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 4.99 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 1,516.49 from Wednesday’s close of 1,511.50. The benchmark index opened 0.39 points higher at 1,511.89.

The broader market was positive, with gainers outnumbering decliners 180 to 107, while 218 counters were unchanged, 1,952 untraded, and eight suspended.

Turnover stood at 176.48 million shares worth RM91.94 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said overnight Wall Street session saw a gradual recovery of buying interest, shrugging off hotter-than-anticipated inflation numbers and uncertain trade policies following the recent announcement that United States Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has been fired.

“We also favour selected technology stocks, following the positive developments in global chip export policies.

“For a more defensive approach and in light of Bank Negara Malaysia’s recent overnight policy rate cut, we continue to favour real estate investment trusts (REITs), as their dividend yields offer an attractive premium against government bonds,” it said in a note today.

Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank gained four sen to RM9.57, Public Bank went up one sen to RM4.24, and Tenaga Nasional added six sen to RM13.74. CIMB and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM6.50 and RM6.52, respectively.

In active trade, ACE debutant iCents Group was five sen higher at 29 sen, Nationgate rose three sen to RM1.51, Tan Chong Motors went down two sen to 77 sen, while NexG and TWL both remained unchanged at 48.5 sen and three sen, respectively.

On the broader index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 31.97 points to 11,403.0, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 32.39 points to 11,165.04, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index appreciated 34.50 points to 11,438.45.

The FBM 70 Index inched up 29.23 points to 16,550.62, while the FBM ACE Index inched down 0.26 of a point to 4,581.82.

By sector, the Financial Services Index increased 40.87 points to 17,284.63, the Energy Index edged down 1.31 points to 734.36, and the Plantation Index eased 0.54 of a point to 7,406.25. The Industrial Products and Services Index grew 0.34 of a point to 152.97.

-- BERNAMA