Bursa Malaysia Rebounds On Positive Sentiment Over Corporate Earnings, Wall Street

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia bounced back today after two consecutive days of losses on bargain hunting as investors are upbeat over the ongoing corporate earnings season and positive performance on Wall Street overnight, said an analyst.

At the close, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (KLCI) rose 6.34 points or 0.39 per cent to 1,641.66 from yesterday’s close of 1,635.32. 

The benchmark index opened 5.01 points higher at 1,640.33 and moved between 1,634.69 to 1,642.14 throughout the trading session.

On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 616 to 446, with 497 counters unchanged, 938 untraded, and eight others suspended.

Turnover increased to 3.72 billion units valued at RM3.08 billion from 3.27 billion units worth RM2.90 billion on Wednesday.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said that the FBM KLCI closed higher today and revisited the 1,640 level, tracking the positive performance of Wall Street overnight.

“This followed the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) meeting minutes, which reinforced expectations for a rate cut next month. While the Fed's statement provided some optimism, investors remain cautious ahead of the weekly jobs data report, due out later this evening at 8.30 pm,” he told Bernama.

Mohd Sedek said today's gains were led by the plantation and utilities sectors, both of which saw strong declines for the previous three days.

“Additionally, positive earnings results from several companies in the data centre supply chain (namely utilities, communications, industrial products, and energy infrastructure) have validated our view that data centres, along with the Johore-Singapore Special Economic Zone, will remain key drivers for the second half of 2024,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI’s rise today was driven by buying interest in blue chips following dovish minutes from the Fed.

“As for the local bourse, we expect the uptrend to continue due to improving market sentiment and renewed optimism about an interest rate cut in the US.

“We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,640-1,660 range towards the weekend,” he added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell 8.0 sen to RM10.44, Tenaga Nasional lost 4.0 sen to RM13.86, Public Bank dropped 4.0 sen to RM4.59, while CIMB Group and IHH Healthcare were both flat at RM7.89 and RM6.32 respectively.

Among the actives, ACE Market debutant Elridge Energy increased 11.0 sen to 40 sen, YTL Power surged 45.0 sen to RM4.20, MY E.G. Services went up 2.0 sen to 94 sen, while Cape EMS dipped 2.5 sen to 40 sen, and Velocity Capital dropped half-a-sen to 5.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index climbed 17.45 points to 12,426.24, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 26.56 points to 12,375.43, while the FBM 70 Index declined 34.11 points to 17,962.12, and the FBM ACE Index decreased 62.14 points to 5,274.14.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index jumped 89.54 points to 7,199.25, the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 1.14 points to 183.38, while the Financial Services Index tumbled 70.64 points to 19,107.32, and the Energy Index slid 15.07 points to 920.65.

The Main Market volume improved to 1.85  billion units worth RM2.69 billion from 1.72 billion units valued at RM2.63 billion on Wednesday.

Warrants turnover narrowed to 1.10 billion units valued at RM129.70 million from 1.13 billion units worth RM133.44 million previously.

The ACE Market volume soared to 768.36 million shares worth RM260.94 million from 409.12 million shares valued at RM133.80 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 260.57 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (374.99 million), construction (116.72 million), technology (220.16 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (98.56 million), property (230.68 million), plantation (35.79 million), REITs (15.52 million), closed/fund (15,500), energy (192.03 million), healthcare (74.16 million), telecommunications and media (26.90 million), transportation and logistics (84.69 million), utilities (124.02 million), and business trusts (133,600).

-- BERNAMA