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KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia rebounded from yesterday’s losses to open slightly higher today, supported by renewed buying in selected heavyweights despite weaker sentiment on regional markets.
At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 0.95 of-a-point to 1,554.36 from yesterday’s close of 1,553.41.
The benchmark index opened 1.31 points firmer at 1,554.72.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 124 to 122, while 232 counters were unchanged, 1,765 untraded and 17 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 169.34 million units worth RM54.66 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said on the first day of June, the FBM KLCI surrendered big gains from the previous session yesterday as global inflationary pressure, that may derail the economic recovery, remains a concern.
The firm said Wall Street edged lower as the Dow Jones Index fell 0.5% after the buoyant US ISM Manufacturing PMI, which rose to 56.1 in May 2022, fuelled further concerns over the pace of tightening from the United States Federal Reserve.
The European stock markets remained downbeat, while Asian stock markets ended mixed.
Back home, it said investors may trade cautiously following the overnight decline on Wall Street.
“Nevertheless, traders would likely lookout for selected technology stocks with solid balance sheet and growing quarterly results (at least positive quarter-to-quarter growth).
“On the commodity markets, crude oil was traded around US$116 per barrel mark, while crude palm oil (CPO) traded above RM6,300 per tonne,” the firm said in a note today.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 6.0 sen to RM8.95, Public Bank rose 2.0 sen to RM4.65, both IHH Healthcare and CIMB gained 1.0 sen to RM6.51 and RM5.21, respectively, while Petronas Chemicals lost 4.0 sen to RM10.02.
Of the actives, Sapura Energy slipped half-a-sen to 6.5 sen, Dolphin International increased 1.0 sen to 6.5 sen, while Fast Energy, KNM and Cypark were all flat at 4.5 sen, 15 sen and 39 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM ACE perked up 6.05 points to 5,189.70, the FBM Emas Shariah Index down 2.78 points to 11,410.72, the FBM Emas Index advanced 3.66 points to 11,074.55, the FBMT 100 Index accumulated 5.48 points to 10,774.27, and the FBM 70 appreciated 2.19 points to 13,236.82.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.77 of-a point weaker at 199.89, while the Plantation Index increased 27.09 points to 7,963.64, and the Financial
Services Index surged 26.20 points to 16,772.79.
Meanwhile, the ringgit continued to trend easier against the US dollar today as sentiments weakened for the local note amid higher inflation reported in the country and lower oil prices, analysts said.
At 9am, the local currency declined to 4.3880/3910 versus the US dollar from yesterday’s close of 4.3805/385.
Besides, an analyst said the US dollar gained its strength as it supports havens amid worries over a further acceleration in global inflation.
The Statistics Department of Malaysia yesterday reported that the country’s inflation rate increased by 2.5%, mainly driven by rising food and fuel prices in 2021.
The increase was also higher compared with 0.7% during the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said there were reports that Saudi Arabia had indicated to its western allies of its readiness to raise oil production should Russia’s output fall substantially under the agreement quota due to the weight of European Union sanctions.
As at the time of writing, Brent crude was trading 2.1% lower at US$113.84 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.
The local note improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.1915/1942 from Tuesday’s close of 3.1928/1965 and increased vis-à-vis the Japanese yen to 3.3728/3754 from 3.3865/3903.
The ringgit traded better versus the British pound at 5.4780/4817 from 5.5159/5216 yesterday and ticked up versus the euro to 4.6754/6786 from 4.6985/7034. – Bernama, June 2, 2022