Bursa Malaysia Opens Higher, Tracking Wall Street's Positive Performance

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, tracking Wall Street’s overnight positive performance, boosted by improved economic data and quarterly earnings reports that exceeded consensus expectations.

At 9.11 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 5.49 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 1,526.43 from Thursday’s close of 1,520.94. The benchmark index opened 2.03 points higher at 1,522.97.

The broader market was positive, with gainers outpacing decliners 260 to 95, while 267 counters were unchanged, 1,836 untraded, and eight suspended.

Turnover stood at 187.29 million shares worth RM128.20 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the United States’ 10-year yield eased slightly to 4.453 per cent.

“Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended marginally lower as traders are sidelined while waiting for fresh catalysts,” he told Bernama. 

Back home, he said the FBM KLCI finally rebounded to above the 1,520 mark, possibly buoyed by stock accumulation by local institutions following days of downtrend.

“For today, we expect the index to hover within the 1,515-1,525 range,” he added. 

Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank and IHH Healthcare were 2.0 sen higher each at RM9.55 and RM6.55, respectively. Public Bank increased 1.0 sen to RM4.26, CIMB perked up 7.0 sen to RM6.57, and Tenaga Nasional reduced 4.0 sen to RM13.74. 

In active trade, ACE debutant Enproserve Group was 5.5 sen higher at 29.5 sen, NexG and Zetrix AI inched up half-a-sen each to 49.5 sen and 94 sen, respectively. KHPT added 1.5 sen to 13.5 sen, and Gamuda rose 12 sen to RM5.27. 

On the broader index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 49.94 points to 11,475.11, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 49.74 points to 11,238.11, the FBM Emas Shariah Index appreciated 48.50 points to 11,522.47, the FBM 70 Index jumped 114.12 points to 16,658.16, while the FBM ACE Index ticked up 10.39 of a point to 4,646.37.

By sector, the Financial Services Index put on 45.47 points to 17,347.82, the Energy Index edged up 2.16 points to 741.27, the Plantation Index rose 16.62 points to 7,447.16, and the Industrial Products and Services Index strengthened 0.47 of a point to 154.46.

-- BERNAMA