BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS HIGHER AMID WALL STREET'S WEAKER PERFORMANCE
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher today amid Wall Street's overnight weaker performance as the United States (US) producer price index (PPI), which tracks wholesale prices, came in hotter than anticipated, heightening concerns about whether inflation could be curtailed or not.
At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.54 points to 1,605.62 from yesterday’s close of 1,602.08.
The index opened 1.78 points higher at 1,603.86.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers surpassing losers 182 to 154, while 284 counters were unchanged, 1,881 untraded, and 44 suspended.
Turnover amounted to 136.53 million units valued at RM77.06 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said that despite many expecting the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to cut rates next week, the US 10-year yield edged higher to 4.336 per cent.
"Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rebounded as investors wait for more details from a key Chinese economic policy meeting coupled with improved expectations that the Fed will cut rate following a tame consumer price index (CPI) figure for November," he told Bernama.
The November US CPI was 2.7 per cent, up from 2.6 per cent the previous month. However, the core CPI remained at 3.3 per cent for three consecutive months after 3.2 per cent in August, suggesting the inflation rate remained sticky.
Back home, Thong said that given the low market liquidity, he believes the local bourse's performance will remain lacklustre, and thus, the index is expected to trend between the 1,600-1,610 range today.
The US PPI increased by 3.0 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in November 2024 from +2.6 per cent y-o-y in October 2024, exceeding market expectations of +2.6 per cent y-o-y and marking the fastest increase since February 2023.
In a note today, MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd said stronger PPI inflation, which signals higher cost pressures, also adds to the renewed inflation concerns.
"Despite the stubborn inflation, we maintain our expectation for another rate cut by the Fed at the upcoming December 2024 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, considering new signs of cooling labour market such as the uptick in the unemployment rate last month and the higher initial jobless claims, which rose to a 7-week high of 242,000, in the first week of December 2024," it said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank went up 4.0 sen to RM10.18, CIMB gained 5.0 sen to RM8.18, Tenaga Nasional added 8.0 sen to RM13.64, and IHH Healthcare eased 3.0 sen to RM7.14, while Public Bank was flat at RM4.57.
As for the active stocks, Datasonic put on 1.0 sen to 44 sen, Bumi Armada improved 1.0 sen to 63.5 sen, and KGW inched down half-a-sen to 18.5 sen, while EA Holdings and Hubline were flat at 1.0 sen and 6.0 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 28.06 points to 12,314.61, the FBMT 100 Index appreciated 29.20 points to 11,997.24, the FBM 70 Index firmed by 54.97 points to 18,450.02, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index expanded 27.16 points to 12,294.80, while the FBM ACE Index decreased by 0.76 of-a-point to 5,308.07.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index jumped 35.41 points to 19,137.53, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.47 of-a-point to 175.16, and the Energy Index widened 1.80 points to 825.95, but the Plantation Index trimmed 3.65 points to 7,650.65.
-- BERNAMA
