Bursa Malaysia gains on Wall Street lead as weak US payrolls temper Fed rate hike expectations
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Monday, tracking Wall Street’s gains after softer US payroll growth eased expectations of an immediate Federal Reserve rate increase.
At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.01 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 1,635.88 from last Friday’s close of 1,630.87.
The index opened 2.55 points higher at 1,633.42.
On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 224 to 158, with 337 counters unchanged, 2,054 untraded and 24 suspended.
Turnover stood at 206.30 million shares worth RM98.78 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the US 10-year yield remained elevated at 5.28 per cent and Brent crude oil settled at US$102.25 per barrel, keeping sentiment sensitive to interest rates and West Asia developments.
“Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index slipped below 24,000 as financial and technology shares weakened.
“Back home, following FBM KLCI’s higher close last Friday, we anticipate tentative stabilisation within 1,625-1,635 today, with bargain hunting offering some support amid a cautious market undertone,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank, Public Bank, CIMB and Tenaga Nasional gained four sen each to RM10.06, RN4.70, RM7.69, and RM13.00, while IHH Healthcare decreased six sen to RM7.74.
In active trade, VS Industry added three sen to 32 sen, Notion VTec increased four sen to 74.5 sen, GB Bond inched up half-a-sen to 23.5 sen, SFP Tech gained a sen to 28.5 sen, while Dagang NeXchange was flat at 51.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Samaiden put on 19 sen to RM3.03, UWC was 16 sen firmer at RM7.73, Critical Holdings perked up 15 sen to RM2.61, Mi Technovation strengthened nine sen to RM5.30, and Solarvest advanced eight sen to RM4.25.
Nestle led the decliners, falling 32 sen to RM89.20, while Vitrox eased 14 sen to RM10.32, Kobay Technology was 12 sen lower at RM2.18, Kelington shed five sen to RM8.58, and YTL Power International edged down four sen to RM5.64.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index gained 28.14 points to 17,510.07, the FBM Emas Index appreciated 33.81 points to 12,204.38, the FBM Top 100 Index widened 32.24 points to 11,989.92, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 22.28 points to 12,082.60, and the FBM ACE Index improved 31.41 points to 5,560.87.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.59 of-a-point to 179.11, the Energy Index gained 2.57 points to 835.60, the Financial Services Index jumped 97.59 points to 19,138.10, and the Plantation Index gained 2.23 points to 9,058.78.
