KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Tuesday, taking its cue from Wall Street’s better performance overnight amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, a dealer said.
At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.60 points to 1,423.86 from Monday’s closing of 1,417.26.
The index opened 2.07 points higher at 1,419.33.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced decliners 189 to 114, while 227 counters were unchanged, 1,796 untraded and nine suspended.
Turnover stood at 309.88 million units worth RM101.93 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed positively after a slow start as traders shook off the impact of the Middle East conflict late in the session.
“Nonetheless, crude oil prices surged in a knee-jerk reaction to the conflict with Brent crude edging past US$88 per barrel and this may derail the US Federal Reserve’s attempts to manage inflation,“ he told Bernama.
On Bursa Malaysia, he reckons the trading may remain subdued due to the developments in the Middle East, “thus sentiment should stay cautious and expect the index to hover within the 1,415-1425 range today.”
“Meanwhile, we believe banking stocks may be ripe for some accumulation following its downtrend since early September,“ he said.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd believes the market could be focusing on the economy and earnings season that will be starting this week with the banking heavyweights.
“Given the strong rebound on Wall Street, buying interest may emerge on the local front, focusing on the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) and the New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) as well as the upcoming Budget 2024 this Friday,“ it said.
The brokergare noted that Brent crude oil spiked more than 4 per cent to above US$88 per barrel amid rising geopolitical concerns, while the crude palm oil price was trading below RM3,600 a tonne.
“With the spike in the Brent oil and gold prices following the Middle East conflict, we think traders may focus on the oil and gas as well as gold-related sectors, and buying support should persist for the near term.
“Besides, traders may take a position in the construction, property, and building materials sectors ahead of Budget 2024,“ it added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Petronas Chemicals improved five sen each to RM8.85 and RM7.22, respectively, while Public Bank added three sen to RM4.06 and CIMB gained four sen to RM5.46. Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM9.97.
Of the actives, Classita and Advance Synergy inched up one sen each to 7.5 sen and 14.5 sen, respectively, KNM Group lost two sen to 12.5 sen while Tanco and Kinergy Advancement were flat at 55.5 sen and 33.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index improved by 43.65 points to 10,552.89, the FBMT 100 Index put on 42.87 points to 10,221.10 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 30.79 points to 10,822.27.
The FBM ACE Index perked up 10.26 points to 5,137.77 and the FBM 70 Index widened 39.43 points to 14,069.18.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index expanded 84.53 points to 15,971.37, the Energy Index was 3.01 points better at 870.68 and the Plantation Index recovered 11.54 points to 6,861.39.
The Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.11 points to 171.74. - Bernama