KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia has maintained its uptrend this morning, taking its cue from Wall Street’s ongoing rally, following the strong United States (US) corporate earnings, said an analyst.
At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.66 points to 1,454.98 from Thursday’s close of 1,450.32.
The benchmark index opened 0.77 points higher at 1,451.09.
On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 172 to 123, while 206 counters were unchanged, 1,795 untraded and eight others suspended.
Turnover stood at 145.83 million units worth RM57.16 million.
In a research note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the Wall Street’s uptrend overnight signals that buying support on the local bourse will remain intact.
“The technology sector should be gaining momentum following the Nasdaq’s extended rebound.
“Besides, investors may favour the automotive stocks after the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) raised its Malaysian automotive total industry volume forecast,” it said.
On the other hand, the brokerage said investors might see some profit-taking activities in the energy sector on declining crude oil prices.
It said crude oil price had slipped but is still trading above the US$103 per barrel mark after Libya increased its output after restrictions on exports were lifted.
Among the Bursa heavyweights, Maybank rose five sen to RM8.75, Public Bank gained three sen to RM4.47, IHH Healthcare and CIMB Group increased two sen each to RM6.49 and RM6.49, respectively, while Petronas Chemicals fell eight sen to RM8.64.
Of the actives, Cypark Resources declined one sen to RM34.5 and Bintai Kinden Corporation was half-a-sen lower at 4.5 sen, while Sarawak Consolidated Industries and ATA IMS added one sen each to 17 sen and 31 sen, respectively, and Widad Group inched up half-a-sen to 38.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 28.01 points to 10,329.92, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 12.1532 points to 10,421.90, the FBM 70 was 54.75 points higher at 12,438.84, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 27.31 points to 10,086.41 and the FBM ACE improved 13.01 points to 4,756.10.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index narrowed 11.22 points to 6,887.31, the Energy Index was 0.61 of-a-point lower at 636.23, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.45 of-a-point to 176.53, while the Financial Services Index gained 70.15 points to 16,286.57.
Meanwhile, the ringgit strengthened against the US dollar at the opening today as demand for the latter diminished due to rising US jobless claims, weaker housing sales and slightly lower US bond yields, which ultimately favoured the ringgit.
At 9.01am, the local currency rose to 4.4510/4550 versus the greenback from Thursday’s close of 4.4575/4590.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the ringgit should perform marginally better due to slightly lower US bond yields.
“Updates from the US which include US jobless claims, softer house sales and an increase in domestic gasoline inventories all indicate that the potential US Federal Reserves’ rate hikes are causing a slowdown in US demand, resulting in a decline in US yields that is favourable for the ringgit,” he said.
However, the ringgit traded easier against a basket of major currencies.
The local currency slipped against the Singapore dollar to 3.2003/2037 from 3.1960/1976 on Thursday and declined versus the British pound to 5.3359/3407 from 5.3236/3254 previously.
It had also eased versus the Japanese yen to 3.2406/2440 from 3.2128/2142 at yesterday’s close and depreciated vis-à-vis the euro to 4.5427/5468 from 4.5386/5402 previously. – Bernama, July 22, 2022
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