KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 – Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Friday morning as selective bargain hunting resumed following recent losses, despite persistent pressure from elevated US Treasury yields and high global oil prices.
At 9:10 AM, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.90 points, or 0.11 percent, to 1,674.21 compared to Thursday’s close of 1,672.31.
The benchmark index opened 2.56 points higher at 1,674.87.
Market breadth turned positive early in the session, with gainers outpacing losers 192 to 128, while 342 counters traded flat, 2,261 remained untraded, and 43 were suspended.
Total turnover stood at 294.55 million shares valued at RM72.92 million.
In a research note, Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) noted that investors are likely to maintain a cautious stance, keeping the benchmark index bound in a tight range as higher crude prices, elevated bond yields, and a hawkish stance from the US Federal Reserve continue to cap equity market risk appetite.
Brent crude oil eased slightly by 0.79 percent to US$105.76 per barrel during early trade.
On the domestic front, HLIB highlighted that the potential RM28 billion in Chinese investment inflows and the proposed East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) extension to Rantau Panjang, Kelantan, announced yesterday, could strengthen Malaysia’s long-term investment landscape and regional connectivity. However, the research house noted that near-term market impact remains limited pending official implementation.
Among index heavyweights, Maybank added four sen to RM10.16, while Tenaga Nasional gained eight sen to RM13.14. Public Bank and IHH Healthcare traded flat at RM4.82 and RM8.06, respectively, while CIMB dipped three sen to RM7.93.
In active trading, Aimax, Iconic Worldwide, and Zetrix AI each gained half a sen to 1.5 sen, 9.5 sen, and 19.5 sen, respectively. TWL and GIIB held flat at 2.5 sen and 59.5 sen.
Hong Leong Financial Group and Petronas Dagangan topped the early gainers’ list, rising 10 sen each to RM18.96 and RM20.10, respectively. Northern Solar gained nine sen to RM1.27, while Press Metal Aluminium and Fraser & Neave advanced eight sen each to RM7.54 and RM23.08.
Nestle led the decliners, dropping 80 sen to RM90.66. Malaysian Pacific Industries shed 28 sen to RM43.22, Dutch Lady Milk Industries slipped 26 sen to RM30.10, and both Apollo Food and Allianz Malaysia dropped eight sen to RM5.72 and RM21.00, respectively.
Across broad-market indices, the FBM Mid 70 Index rose 39.53 points to 17,794.35, the FBM Emas Index gained 18.16 points to 12,459.43, the FBM Top 100 Index advanced 17.32 points to 12,248.57, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 18.24 points to 12,309.96, and the FBM ACE Index climbed 17.77 points to 5,455.10.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.27 of a point to 184.61, the Energy Index gained 3.11 points to 863.54, the Financial Services Index rose 18.81 points to 19,573.68, and the Plantation Index moved up 18.56 points to 9,409.84.
–NMT
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