Bursa Malaysia Opens Higher, Tracking Wall Street’s Recovery
KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded at Thursday’s open, tracking Wall Street’s gains after days of selling.
A dealer said slower-than-expected inflation data reassured investors, lifting sentiment in the local market.
At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.18 points to 1,490.01 from Wednesday’s close of 1,484.83. The benchmark index opened 3.96 points higher at 1,488.79.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced decliners 267 to 104, with 216 counters unchanged, 1,803 untraded, and 13 suspended.
Turnover stood at 218.29 million shares worth RM146.02 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said Canada’s decision to impose a 25 per cent tariff on US$21 billion worth of US goods contrasted with Wall Street’s rebound, which was driven by slower-than-expected consumer price index (CPI) data that reassured investors.
It added that this could influence the US Federal Reserve’s outlook on interest rates.
Back home, the brokerage sees trading opportunities in oversold technology stocks and maintains a positive outlook on the banking sector, supported by Wall Street’s rebound.
Despite selling pressure following the dividend ex-date, the sector’s growing income and dividends are expected to help cushion downside risks.
“Meanwhile, we favour REITs due to recovering footfall in major malls,” it said.
Among heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional rose 20 sen to RM13.20, YTL Power and Sunway added 10 sen each to RM3.07 and RM4.27 respectively, while RHB gained three sen to RM6.83. Maxis slipped one sen to RM3.21, and Maybank eased two sen to RM10.16.
In active stocks, NEXG and Ta Win were unchanged at 25.5 sen and 3.0 sen respectively, Nationgate climbed 11 sen to RM1.28, while Saliran and Mestron lost one sen each to 26 sen and 25.5 sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 42.94 points to 11,094.16, the FBMT 100 Index added 40.91 points to 10,877.18, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 47.30 points to 10,781.79. The FBM 70 Index gained 78.53 points to 15,742.86, while the FBM ACE Index increased 20.19 points to 4,419.16.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.18 points to 150.13, the Energy Index rose 4.59 points to 688.91, and the Financial Services Index climbed 14.75 points to 18,215.53.
The Plantation Index, however, slipped 11.76 points to 7,282.28.
-- BERNAMA