KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 ― Bursa Malaysia turned positive at mid-morning as buying support emerged, aided by the release of global economic data, which was in line with investors’ expectations and position the market for a less hawkish tone by the US Federal Reserve (Fed).
At 11am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.46 of-a-point to 1,447.58 compared with yesterday's closing of 1,447.12.
The FBM KLCI opened 1.04 points easier at 1,446.08.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said, with the expectation of a downward projection in the US Consumer Price Index (CPI), the market could position for a less hawkish tone by the Fed and will be looking at a rate cut as early as May 2024.
“With that, we expect buying support to persist on the US and local stock exchanges. On the commodity markets, the Brent oil prices retraced after hitting resistance along US$76 per barrel to US$77 per barrel amid demand concerns in China despite rising geopolitical tension after Iran-backed Yemeni militants attacked a tanker in the Red Sea.”
Meanwhile, the US CPI declined to 3.1 per cent on a yearly basis in November 2023, following October's reading of 3.2 per cent, and came in line with market expectations.
For the broader market, gainers led losers 335 to 331, while 407 counters were unchanged, 1,250 untraded and 21 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 1.47 billion units valued at RM671.51 million.
Among the heavyweights, CIMB earned one sen to RM5.80, Petronas Chemicals was four sen better at RM7.13, Maybank and Public Bank were flat at RM9.07 and RM4.25, respectively, while Tenaga erased three sen to RM9.90.
Of the actives, Sarawak Cable added four sen to 25 sen, Ageson improved two sen to 7.5 sen, Bina Puri perked up half-a-sen to nine sen, while TWL Holdings was flat at 3.5 sen, and Velesto shed one sen to 21.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased by 10.78 points to 10,692.86, the FBMT 100 Index added 11.57 points to 10,361.13, the FBM 70 Index jumped 52.03 points to 14,130.21, the FBM ACE Index rose 11.13 points to 5,142.16, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 8.72 points to 10,783.53.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index put on 1.65 points to 16,337.92, the Plantation Index was 26.0 points better at 6,999.58, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.46 of-a-point to 170.56, and the Energy Index dropped 4.76 points to 790.71. ― Bernama