Bursa Opens Higher, Seen Testing 1,600 Level On US Rate Cut Hopes

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher and is set to test the 1,600 level today after Wall Street’s bullish momentum overnight on US interest rate cut hopes, coupled with a strong corporate earnings season, analysts said.

At 9.15 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 2.48 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 1,589.08 from yesterday’s close of 1,586.60. The benchmark index earlier opened 0.31 of a point firmer at 1,586.91.

The market breadth was positive, with advancers leading decliners 191 to 154. A total of 301 counters were unchanged, 1,918 untraded and 17 suspended.

Turnover stood at 174.93 million shares worth RM97.13 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that Wall Street’s overnight rally pushed both the Nasdaq and the S&P500 to record highs.  “Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield eased to 4.236 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index cruised past the 25,000 level as traders’ risk appetite increased as hopes for a US interest rate cut in September escalated,” he told Bernama. 

On the domestic front, as the FBM KLCI surged to almost the 1,590 mark at the close yesterday, Thong said he believes the index is set to test the 1,600 level soon, and eventually improve the overall trading volume of the local bourse in the future. “We expect the buying momentum to persist, hence expect the index to hover within the 1,580-1,600 range today,” he added. 

Among the heavyweight stocks, Maybank added six sen to RM9.92, Public Bank climbed one sen to RM4.45, and CIMB gained five sen to RM7.24. Tenaga Nasional eased six sen to RM13.74 while IHH Healthcare was flat at RM6.91.   

On the actively traded list, Oxford Innotech advanced three sen to 41 sen, Mtouche Technology, Icents and YGL inched up half-a-sen to 3.5 sen, 43 sen and 14 sen, respectively, while Classita dipped half-a-sen to 8.5 sen.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index expanded 16.23 points to 11,820.41, the FBMT 100 Index widened by 15.18 points to 11,604.19, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 2.18 points to 11,770.73. The FBM ACE Index picked up 4.80 points to 4,659.41, and the FBM Mid 70 Index gained 9.19 points to 16,785.55.

By sector, the Financial Services Index jumped 67.76 points to 18,141.66, the Plantation Index bagged 25.76 points to 7,623.75, and the Energy Index added 2.40 points to 740.04. The Industrial Products and Services Index shaved 0.07 of a point to 158.44.

-- BERNAMA