Bursa rises after Wall St surge on hopes of slowing interest rate hikes

KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened the new week higher after Wall Street made sharp gains overnight on hopes for an easing of US interest rate hikes after the country posted sluggish manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 2.21 points to 1,448.63 after 13 minutes, compared to Friday’s close of 1,446.42.

The market bellwether opened higher by 2.72 points at 1,449.14.

On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 253 to 134, while 249 counters were unchanged, 1,716 untraded, and 12 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 280.61 million units worth RM119.85 million.

The ringgit opened barely changed against the US dollar due to the absence of fresh market catalysts.

At 9am, the local currency decreased marginally to 4.7390/7405 against the greenback from last Friday’s close of 4.7380/7395. – Bernama, October 25, 2022