Bursa Malaysia opens higher tracking overnight Wall Street

BURSA Malaysia opened higher today, tracking the upbeat performance on Wall Street overnight, said an analyst.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.62 points to 1,615.15 from yesterday’s close of 1,608.53.

The barometer index opened 3.29 higher at 1,611.82.

On the broader market, gainers outperformed losers 316 to 124, with 353 counters unchanged, 1,575 untraded and 10 others suspended.

Turnover was 251.16 million shares worth RM186.07 million.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said that the FBM KLCI opened higher, in tandem with regional markets, after the S&P 500 hit its 25th record of the year last night.

“Market movements are being influenced by investor sentiment concerning a potential interest rate cut next week.

“This sentiment arose after the US ADP National Employment Report indicated that private employers added 152,000 jobs in May, down from 188,000 in April, and about 23,000 fewer than analysts had anticipated,” he told Bernama.

Consequently, he said the attention turned to Friday’s May Nonfarm Payrolls report.

“Investors believe that further signs of weakening in the labour market, combined with easing inflation, might provide the Federal Reserve with enough confidence to cut rates for the first time in over four years,” he said.

“Domestically, we do not anticipate continued profit-taking today, as investors are likely to seek opportunities to purchase blue-chip stocks after the market’s decline yesterday.

“Technically, we expect the FBM KLCI to move between 1,600 and 1,620 points today, with support levels at 1,575 points,” he added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 2.0 sen to RM10.00, Public Bank gained 1.0 sen to RM4.14, Tenaga Nasional surged 32.0 sen to RM13.58, CIMB Group gained 1.0 sen to RM6.90, and IHH Healthcare increased 3.0 sen to RM6.21.

Among the actives, JCY International rose 2.5 sen to 64 sen, and Kawan Renergy climbed 5.0 sen to 69.5 sen, while Dagang NeXchange, Velesto Energy and XOX was all flat at 48 sen, 26 sen and 1.5 sen respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 49.44 points to 12,289.42, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 45.73 points to 11,889.54, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 63.24 points to 12,550.66, the FBM 70 Index gained 55.42 points to 17,593.56, and the FBM ACE Index put on 17.34 points to 5,484.95.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index ticked up 41.90 points to 17,633.07, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.36 of-a-point to 196.93, the Energy Index increased by 3.21 points to 955.53, the Plantation Index inched up 6.96 points to 7,144.08, while the Construction Index eased 0.54 of-a-point to 246.00.

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