Bursa Malaysia Opens Higher at 1,735.96 Tracking Wall Street Gains

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 — Bursa Malaysia opened marginally higher on Monday, taking cues from gains on Wall Street on Friday following an unexpected decline in US employment figures for July.

At 9:00 AM, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 0.21 of a point to 1,735.96 from Friday’s close of 1,735.75, after opening 0.10 of a point higher at 1,735.85.

Market breadth was positive across the broader market, with gainers outpacing losers 257 to 111, while 355 counters remained unchanged, 2,050 were untraded, and 21 were suspended. Total market turnover stood at 227.41 million shares valued at RM105.87 million.

The positive momentum on Wall Street came as weaker-than-expected US employment data strengthened market expectations that the US Federal Reserve will maintain interest rates at current levels for the time being. Meanwhile, despite persistent external uncertainties surrounding geopolitical developments and firm crude oil prices, widespread bargain-hunting on the local front helped limit downside pressure.

Heavyweights showed mixed performance in early trade, with Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and Tenaga Nasional Bhd gaining four sen each to RM10.72 and RM14.40, respectively. IHH Healthcare Bhd improved by seven sen to RM8.37, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd stood at RM7.94, while Public Bank Bhd slipped three sen to RM5.16.

In active trading, Dagang NeXchange Bhd added 2.5 sen to 49.5 sen, HHRG Bhd edged up 1.5 sen to 13.5 sen, Nationgate Holdings Bhd gained nine sen to RM1.52, Perak Transit Bhd put on 1.5 sen to 23 sen, and VS Industry Bhd advanced half a sen to 24.5 sen.

Allianz Malaysia Bhd led the top gainers, surging 96 sen to RM22.48. Other notable gainers included UWC Bhd, which firmed 15 sen to RM6.70, Kobay Technology Bhd, up 12 sen to RM2.58, Pentamaster Corporation Bhd, gaining eight sen to RM5.55, Greatech Technology Bhd, advancing seven sen to RM2.63, and CPE Technology Bhd, climbing six sen to RM1.19. On the decliners’ list, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd led losses after dropping RM1.16 to RM21.74. Kim Hin Industry Bhd shed 7.5 sen to 85 sen, while Kelington Group Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd lost five sen each to RM8.73 and RM7.90, respectively. YTL Power International Bhd narrowed by four sen to RM4.65.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index grew 11.92 points to 12,846.17, the FBM Top 100 Index garnered 9.10 points to 12,669.30, and the FBM ACE Index rose 14.60 points to 5,094.55. The FBM Mid 70 Index surged 45.54 points to 18,272.06, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index ticked up 22.15 points to 12,685.39.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 1.20 points to 20,417.73, the Energy Index went up 1.58 points to 759.97, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.47 of a point to 188.47. However, the Plantation Index fell 75.20 points to 9,465.88.

-NMT