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KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, tracking the rebound on Wall Street overnight.
However, the market tone remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision in the middle of the week, a dealer said.
At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 4.17 points to 1,455.69 from yesterday’s close of 1,451.52.
The benchmark index opened 2.90 points better at 1,454.42.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced decliners 214 to 84, while 194 counters were unchanged, 1,874 untraded, and 9 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 130.26 million units worth RM66.25 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd noted that the FBM KLCI tumbled along with regional peers yesterday over global recession fears amid rising interest rates.
“We believe the local bourse will remain volatile at least until the Fed’s meeting in the middle of the week amid heightened expectation for hawkish monetary policy decisions,” it said in a research note.
“Meanwhile, fears over a global recession may continue to weigh on commodity prices.”
Commodities-wise, it noted that the crude oil price has hovered around the US$92 (RM418.83) per barrel mark, while the crude palm oil (CPO) price retraced from RM3,700.
The brokerage firm said with the slight rebound on Wall Street overnight, bargain hunting activities are expected to emerge in technology stocks, at least for today’s session.
“We also like selected stocks under the energy sector as Brent oil price is still hovering around US$92. Besides, investors may focus on the banking sector under the interest rate upcycle environment,” it added.
Among the heavyweights, Public Bank added three sen to RM4.48, CIMB Bank gained six sen to RM5.48 and IHH Healthcare improved one sen to RM6.17.
Petronas Chemicals slid one sen to RM8.58 while Maybank was flat at RM8.63.
Of the actives, Main Market debutant AME REIT gained five sen to RM1.18, Orgabio Holdings edged up half-a-sen to 37.5 sen, Top Glove trimmed half-a-sen to 70 sen. Metronic and UMedic were flat at two sen and 75.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index went up 36.97 points to 10,398.21, the FBMT 100 Index bagged 33.47 points to 10,136.92, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 30.54 points to 10,482.01, the FBM 70 advanced 59.22 points to 12,643.11 and the FBM ACE added 1.91 points at 4,761.31.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index was 7.4 points better at 730.88, the Plantation Index climbed 21.22 points to 6,895.15, the Financial Services Index rose 52.35 points to 16,421.97 and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.58 of-a-point to 178.62.
Meanwhile, the ringgit rebounded to open marginally higher against the US dollar today on renewed buying interest, despite the anticipation of a US interest rate hike, a dealer said.
At 9am, the local currency rose to 4.5470/5510 against the greenback from 4.5495/5515 at yesterday’s close.
However, ActivTrades trader, Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the US dollar is expected to continue to strengthen against the ringgit in anticipation of the interest rate decision in the US, where the Federal Open Market Committee is expected to announce a 75-basis point (bps) hike.
Nevertheless, he said the market is already pricing in a hike of as much as 75 bps and if it did happen, the US dollar is likely to lose some ground, at least initially.
“On the other hand, if the hike is 100 bps, it could bolster the US dollar further.
“From a technical point of view, the US dollar/ringgit is in an extremely overbought region, which could signal buyer fatigue in the near future,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It fell against the British pound to 5.1972/2018 from 5.1678/1700 at yesterday’s close and inched down versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2299/2332 from 3.2261/2278 previously.
The local note depreciated against the euro to 4.5620/5660 from 4.5372/5392 yesterday and declined against the Japanese yen to 3.1757/1790 from 3.1706/1724 previously. – Bernama, September 20, 2022