Bursa remains on high note at mid-morning, boosted by bargain hunting

KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia remained on a high note at mid-morning, boosted by bargain hunting after two consecutive days of losses, in line with the positive sentiment in the regional markets.

At 11.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 10.12 points to 1,500.69 from yesterday’s close of 1,490.57.

The benchmark index opened 1.09 points firmer at 1,491.66.

On the broader market, advancers surpassed decliners 463 to 200, while 329 counters were unchanged, 1,243 untraded and nine others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.10 billion units worth RM551.25 million.

ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves said Asian equities rose on Thursday on the back of Wall Street’s strong rally following the unexpectedly strong Institute of Supply Management Non-Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index data.

“Geopolitical concerns have been easing, with investors unwinding risk premia with the conclusion of the United States House of Representatives’ speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

“This is likely to benefit microchip stocks across Asia,” he said in a statement today.

Despite the easing immediate concerns, Alves said investors will be looking out for any potential escalation in the US-China tensions, with any economic sanctions from China likely to negatively affect risk sentiment and positioning in Asian markets.

“On the data front, all eyes will be on tomorrow’s release of the US Non-Farm payrolls, as a cooling in hiring could be a precursor for the Federal Open Market Committee to slow down the rate hikes,” he added.

Back home, Bursa heavyweights Maybank and IHH Healthcare rose 4.0 sen each to RM8.87 and RM6.46, respectively, both Public Bank and CIMB added 1.0 sen each to RM4.62 and RM5.24, respectively, and Petronas Chemicals lost 5.0 sen to 8.85.

Of the actives, SFP Tech gained 4.0 sen to 91 sen, while CSH Alliance was flat at 6.0 sen, Hextar fell 1.5 sen to 31.5 sen, and both Metronic and Green Packet slipped half-a-sen each to 9.5 sen and 5.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index soared 73.62 points to 10,645.84, the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 101.56 points to 10,814.61, the FBMT 100 Index accumulated 71.16 points to 10,394.91, the FBM ACE increased 59.75 points to 4,850.20, and the FBM 70 perked up 91.42 points to 12,743.13.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index improved by 32.36 points to 7,060.37 and the Financial Services Index went up 58.66 points to 16,628.80, while the Industrial Products and Services Index shaved 0.19 of-a-point to 185.01 and the Energy Index slid 1.15 points to 659.59.

Meanwhile, the ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar this morning after the greenback weakened due to the rising tension between the US and China.

At 9.04am, the local currency stood at 4.4535/4555 versus the greenback compared to Wednesday's close of 4.4550/4565.

ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan had heightened US-Sino tensions, which triggered a fall in the US dollar.

“The dollar was higher at the beginning of the session, but the rising tension between the two nations triggered the greenback’s decline,” he said.

He also noted that investors remain apprehensive ahead of the US nonfarm payrolls data which will be released tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

The local currency gained against the Japanese yen to 3.3325/3342 from yesterday’s close of 3.3459/3472, advanced versus the British pound to 5.4137/4161 from 5.4244/4262 and improved against the euro to 4.5261/5281 from 4.5396/5412 previously.

However, the ringgit depreciated vis-à-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.2274/2293 from 3.2262/2277 yesterday. – Bernama, August 4, 2022