KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened easier today, trading in a cautious mode, taking its cue from the overnight Wall Street’s weaker performance on concerns over interest rate hikes, a dealer said.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 0.07 of-a-point to 1,501.50 from Monday’s close of 1,501.57.
The benchmark index opened 0.79 of-a-point easier at 1,500.78.
However, market breadth was positive as gainers led losers 148 to 119, while 184 counters were unchanged, 1,881 untraded and 53 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 153.77 million units worth RM60.59 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said in a note that the global market sentiment is expected to remain cautious on the back of persistent concerns over interest rate hikes going forward as the Federal Reserve stands firm on its hawkish stance.
On the local front, an increase in Malaysia’s July inflation rate may lead to another Overnight Policy Rate hike by Bank Negara Malaysia, it noted.
Commodities wise, it said crude oil price surged above the US$105 per barrel mark, while crude palm oil was traded above RM4,200.
“For sectors in focus, as Wall Street remained in a bearish undertone overnight, selling pressure may continue in the technology sector, but bargain hunting might emerge and under the OPR upcycle environment, it could benefit banking counters.
“We also see upside potential in the energy sector as crude oil price rebounded above US$105,” it added.
Among heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB shed two sen each to RM8.92 and RM5.38 respectively, IHH Healthcare slipped three sen to RM6.31, Public Bank added one sen to RM4.64 and Petronas Chemicals rose nine sen to RM8.99.
Of the actives, Vortex and Bumi Armada bagged one sen each to 19 sen and 42.5 sen respectively, Dagang Nexchange and Agmo perked 1.5 sen each to 86.5 sen and 93.5 sen respectively while AHB Holdings was flat at 13 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 15.08 points to 10,640.58, the FBMT 100 Index added 14.13 points to 10,391.0, the FBM 70 advanced 76.27 points to 12,699.93 and the FBM ACE went 17.09 points to 4,898.89 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 30.23 points to 10,763.57.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index was 0.70 of-a-point better at 7,107.07, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.75 of-a-point to 183.67 and the Energy Index gained 11.47 points to 734.57, but the Financial Services Index eased 17.23 points to 16,705.16.
Meanwhile, the ringgit rebounded to open marginally higher against the US dollar today on renewed buying interest despite the continuous strengthening of the greenback, said a dealer.
At 9am, the local currency rose to 4.4830/4860 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.4885/4915.
ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the US dollar is currently in a bullish mode following statements by United States Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, who reaffirmed that the interest rate for the US dollar should remain high for some time.
“From a technical point of view, the US dollar is in an all-time high region against the ringgit and considering the broad bullish movement of the past few months, it seems unlikely that the USD/MYR will be able to break above 4.50 without first making a major retracement to the downside,” he said.
On the home front, Diniz said Malaysia’s consumer price index data released yesterday showed that inflation in the country was in line with investors’ expectations at 4.4%.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local unit was lower against the Singapore dollar at 3.2125/2151 from yesterday’s close of 3.2100/2126, fell against the British pound to 5.2518/2553 from 5.2439/2474 and declined against the euro to 4.4843/4873 from 4.4705/4735 yesterday.
However, it appreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.2359/2385 from 3.2385/2409 yesterday. – Bernama, August 30, 2022
