Bursa Malaysia takes cue from Wall Street to start higher on Monday
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia started the day on a positive note, following the lead of Wall Street's improved performance led by prominent technology companies, as stated by an analyst.
The FBM KLCI increased by 4.91 points to reach 1,381.59 at 9.10 am, compared to its previous closing value of 1,376.68 on Friday.
The primary indicator began 2.71 points higher at 1,379.39.
The overall market had a positive performance, with more shares gaining than losing (177 to 114). There were 252 stocks that remained unchanged, 1,715 that were not actively traded, and 40 stocks that were temporarily halted.
Sales volume reached 228.81 million items, valued at RM87.32 million.
According to Thong Pak Leng, the vice-president of equity research at Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, traders are becoming more cautious due to their anticipation of increased volatility.
He mentioned that the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 285 points while the Nasdaq surged by 196 points, even though the US 10-year yield concluded above the 3.8 percent threshold at 3.841 percent.
Thong mentioned that Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended slightly down due to sluggish economic activities caused by a contraction in Chinese manufacturing and decreased loan demand during the second quarter.
The FBM KLCI experienced a significant decline in value on Friday, primarily due to the high number of financial stocks being sold-off.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Bank Negara Malaysia is scheduled to convene on Wednesday and Thursday.
"Even though we believe that the overnight policy rate (OPR) will remain unchanged this week, we expect the overall sentiment to remain delicate. Our prediction is that the index will stay within the range of 1,370-1,380 today," he informed Bernama.
Thong anticipated that there would be some purchasing activity in the technology stocks today, following the trend set by Wall Street.
In the realm of substantial stocks, Maybank and Public Bank saw a increase of four cents each, reaching RM8.67 and RM3.89 respectively. CIMB and IHH Healthcare also experienced a gain of two cents each, with prices reaching RM5.08 and RM5.91 accordingly. Meanwhile, Tenaga Nasional remained unchanging at RM9.05.
Among the stocks that showed movement, BTM Resources saw a slight rise of one sen to 10 sen. Tanco and Jade Marvel also experienced gains, with an increase of half-a-sen each, bringing their shares to 58 sen and 21.5 sen respectively. On the other hand, Cypark Resources witnessed a decline of three sen, lowering its price to 72 sen, while PT Resources slipped by one sen to 53 sen.
In the list of stock market indices, the FBM Emas Index gained 31.73 points and reached 10,173.07. The FBMT 100 Index also increased by 31.29 points and reached 9,875.29. Likewise, the FBM ACE Index rose by 19.85 points to 5,087.87. The FBM Emas Shariah Index saw an advancement of 20.37 points to 10,435.24, and the FBM 70 Index experienced a growth of 26.27 points reaching 13,410.85.
In terms of sectors, the Financial Services Index bounced back by 62.52 points to reach 15,395.39. The Industrial Products and Services Index saw a slight increase of 0.34 points, reaching 157.26. The Energy Index also saw a boost of 2.02 points, reaching 776.11.
Nevertheless, the Plantation Index experienced a decline of 3.18 points, settling at 6,695.47, as reported by Bernama.
