Bursa opens higher, tracking Wall Street's overnight gains

Free Malaysia Today

3 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR : Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as sentiment was boosted by the potential reversal of US President Donald Trump's tariff policy, which many view as a negotiation tool, said an analyst.
At 9.08am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 3.27 points to 1,506.52 from Tuesday's close of 1,503.25.
The benchmark index opened 3.85 points higher at 1,507.10.
In the broader market, gainers led decliners 141 to 119, while 259 counters were unchanged, 1,820 untraded and 18 suspended.
Turnover stood at 81.17 million units valued at RM40.27 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said, nonetheless, many were wary of the tariffs' effect on US economic data.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index (HSI) rebounded as sentiment was buoyed by the likelihood of a high-level discussion between China's President Xi Jinping and Trump to mitigate the ongoing trade tension.
'Whether this will take place remains to be seen, but expectations were rather hyped up,' he added.
On the home front, the FBM KLCI on Tuesday continued its decline and at one moment, even broke the 1,500 psychological level.
Nonetheless, selective bargain hunting managed to push the index back up to above the 1,500 mark.
'Overall, the market undertone is still weak. Hence, the directionless benchmark index is exacerbated by the persistent selling by foreign funds.
'For today, we expect the index to trend between the 1,500-1,510 points range again,' said Thong.
Among the heavyweights, YTL Corporation gained 2.0 sen to RM1.82, PMetal rose 5.0 sen to RM5.00, Hong Leong Financial Group increased 16 sen to RM16.46, Petronas Chemicals grew 3.0 sen to RM3.31, and SD Guthrie rose 4.0 sen to RM4.55.
Among active stocks, KNM eased half-a-sen to 3.0 sen, Avangaad was flat at 28 sen, Toyo Ventures added 1.5 sen to 38.5 sen, while SSF Home Group, PA Resources and Managepay Systems were flat at 36.5 sen, 18 sen, and 7.5 sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index strengthened 20.89 points to 11,275.35, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 21.58 points to 11,044.30, but the FBM ACE Index slid 10.32 points to 4,471.49.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 29.68 points to 11,239.83, while the FBM 70 Index garnered 22.01 points to 16,164.17.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index edged up 11.33 points to 17,773.96, the Industrial Products and Services Index was up 0.70 of-a-point to 150.78, the Energy Index climbed 0.88 of-a-point to 699.84, and the Plantation Index grew 14.45 points to 7,233.33.