By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad
KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia snapped a four-day losing streak to open higher today, supported by selective bargain hunting in the domestic market, despite Wall Street’s weaker overnight performance amid trade war concerns.
At 9.40 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was up 10.06 points, or 0.65 per cent, at 1,565.72 from yesterday’s close of 1,555.66.
The benchmark index opened 4.90 points higher at 1,560.56.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 401 to 199, while 328 counters were unchanged, 1,403 untraded and six suspended.
Turnover stood at 660.41 million shares worth RM328.0 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the trade war sparked by the United States (US) could escalate into an all-out trade war as the US has threatened more tariffs on Canada.
Meanwhile, he said the US 10-year yield crept up to 4.24 per cent, as the US tariffs could add to inflationary pressures.
“Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index declined amid growing fears that US tariffs are starting to take effect today.
“As the affected countries impose retaliatory tariffs, many fear this will escalate the global trade war further,” he told Bernama.
Back home, he said the FBM KLCI fared even worse as investors, in risk-off mode, unloaded their holdings amid rising volatility.
“Though we are not advocating aggressive bargain hunting yet, we see the current scenario as an excellent opportunity for selective stock picking, particularly in blue chips and defensive stocks with decent dividend yields.
“For today, we expect the index to hover between 1,550 and 1,565, with hopes that foreign funds will soon favour Asia as a preferred destination,” he added.
Among heavyweights, Maybank added 4.0 sen to RM10.64, Public Bank gained 6.0 sen to RM4.59, Tenaga Nasional rose 20 sen to RM13.80, IHH Healthcare edged up 2.0 sen to RM7.37, while CIMB eased 3.0 sen to RM7.97.
As for actives, NexG gained 1.0 sen to 26.5 sen, Ingenieur Gudang and Silver Ridge inched up half-a-sen each to 3.5 sen and 56 sen, respectively, NationGate added 3.0 sen to RM1.48, while Jiankun International was flat at 4.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 79.12 points to 11,623.99, the FBMT 100 Index gained 78.69 points to 11,408.84, the FBM Emas Shariah Index firmed 82.79 points to 11,246.13, the FBM 70 Index advanced 134.92 points to 16,420.96, and the FBM ACE Index added 19.28 points to 4,570.65.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased 1.17 points to 154.26, the Energy Index strengthened 2.08 points to 737.08, the Financial Services Index climbed 77.69 points to 19,336.04, and the Plantation Index gained 28.57 points to 7,511.58.
-- BERNAMA
