Bursa Malaysia Opens Slightly Higher On Wall Street Recovery

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher today on bargain hunting, tracking Wall Street’s overnight rebound amid rising expectations of US monetary easing next week.

At 9.29 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched up 0.13 of a point to 1,622.97 from Wednesday’s close of 1,622.84.

The index had opened 1.79 of a point higher at 1,624.63.

The broader market was positive, with 284 gainers outpacing 189 losers. A further 363 counters were unchanged, 1,889 remained untraded, and seven were suspended.

Turnover stood at 296.71 million shares worth RM168.27 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the opening sentiment was buoyed by Wall Street’s recovery, following a weaker-than-expected private payroll report in November, which strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve could cut rates next week.

He added that the US 10-year yield was marginally lower at 4.063 per cent.

“Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index declined due to profit-taking as traders locked in gains after recent rises. Sentiment has turned cautious ahead of signals from the Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, and Beijing,” he told Bernama.

Locally, he noted that the FBM KLCI failed to sustain its two-day climb and closed near the 1,620 level amid weak regional performance.

“We expect traders to wait for clearer signals from the US before committing again. Today, the index is likely to hover within the 1,620–1,630 range,” he added.

Among heavyweights, Nestle rose 90 sen to RM117.50, IHH Healthcare gained 3.0 sen to RM8.30, YTL Power International added 2.0 sen to RM3.27, Maybank eased 4.0 sen to RM10.22, while MISC was flat at RM7.50.

On the most active list, Tanco gained 1.0 sen to RM1.15, Aurelius rose 2.5 sen to 92.5 sen and Foodie inched up half-a-sen to 34.5 sen. PSP Energy, debuting on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market, eased half-a-sen to 15.5 sen, while Kinergy Advancement was flat at 38.5 sen.

Top gainers included Hong Leong Financial and Petronas Dagangan, up 12 sen each to RM17.86 and RM20.06, Telekom Malaysia and PPB Group, up 10 sen to RM7.73 and RM10.08 respectively, and Itmax, 8.0 sen firmer at RM4.62.

Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries fell 28 sen to RM32.20, United Plantations eased 18 sen to RM28.36, Allianz Malaysia gave up 10 sen to RM20.40, Ralco Corporation slid 6.5 sen to 70 sen, and Tenaga Nasional slipped 6.0 sen to RM12.78.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 24.88 points to 11,841.26, the FBMT 100 Index picked up 8.99 points to 11,794.38, the FBM Mid 70 Index gained 47.93 points to 16,810.58, the FBM ACE Index added 7.00 points to 4,817.09, and the FBM Emas Index advanced 10.55 points to 12,012.31.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index fell 17.07 points to 19,091.99, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.41 of-a-point to 166.45, the Energy Index rose 1.88 points to 751.83, while the Plantation Index declined 33.66 points to 8,064.41.

-- BERNAMA