Bursa Malaysia Rebounds, Opens Higher Despite Wall Street Weakness
By Rosemarie Khoo & Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded from Tuesday’s losses to open higher on Wednesday despite weakness on Wall Street, as concerns over higher crude oil prices intensified amid escalating tensions in West Asia, an analyst said.
At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.26 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 1,717.66 from Tuesday’s close of 1,714.40.
The benchmark index opened 1.06 points higher at 1,715.46.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 226 to 115. A total of 331 counters were unchanged, 2,137 untraded and 15 suspended.
Turnover stood at 229.35 million shares worth RM110.32 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street started the week lower as concerns over rising crude oil prices intensified, with Brent crude inching closer to US$100 a barrel amid escalating tensions in West Asia.
He said the US 10-year Treasury yield had also settled higher at 4.792 per cent, potentially reducing the appeal of emerging-market assets, including the ringgit.
“On the home front, the FBM KLCI ended on a flat note amidst the ongoing market consolidation. Trading has been choppy throughout the day with daily volume improving to above the four billion share level.
“In the absence of catalyst, we expect the index to hover between the 1,710 - 1,720 range today,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 2.0 sen to RM10.56, Public Bank added 1.0 sen to RM5.01, Tenaga Nasional gained 4.0 sen to RM13.94 and IHH Healthcare surged 8.0 sen to RM7.92, while Press Metal Aluminium eased 1.0 sen to RM7.93.
Actively traded stocks included Zetrix AI, which fell half a sen to 30 sen, NexG, which rose 2.5 sen to 29.5 sen, and K-One Technology, which gained 2.0 sen to 15 sen. Yong Tai slipped half a sen to 12.5 sen, while GIIB was flat at 53.5 sen.
The top gainers were led by Malaysian Pacific Industries, which rose 38 sen to RM40.20, followed by Malayan Cement, up 20 sen to RM5.72. Hengyuan gained 13 sen to RM3.13, UMS Integration strengthened 12 sen to RM8.26 and Westports rose 9.0 sen to RM6.95.
The top losers included Nestle, which fell 16 sen to RM94.00, Hong Leong Financial, down 14 sen to RM18.84, Keck Seng, which shed 5.0 sen to RM5.10, Go Hub Capital, down 4.0 sen to RM1.10, and GTA Holdings, which eased 3.0 sen to 30.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index climbed 69.39 points to 17,896.30, while the FBM ACE Index rose 9.71 points to 5,281.94.
The FBM Emas Index gained 31.17 points to 12,702.20, the FBM Top 100 Index added 29.96 points to 12,503.65, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 35.16 points to 12,485.99.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 18.37 points to 20,165.85, while the Plantation Index slipped 9.22 points to 9,467.41.
The Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.48 of a point to 187.90, while the Energy Index gained 3.14 points to 821.91.
-- BERNAMA