BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS MARGINALLY LOWER, BUT TURNS HIGHER THEREAFTER

By Rosemarie Khoo

KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened marginally lower but turned higher on Monday, buoyed by the positive sentiment of fund inflows by foreign investors throughout last week, analysts said. 

At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 1.84 points to 1,544.33 from last Friday’s close of 1,542.49. 

The benchmark index was 0.71 of-a-point easier at 1,541.78 at the opening bell. 

Turnover stood at 123.73 million shares worth RM65.76 million.

Market breadth was positive, with 233 gainers outnumbering 90 decliners, 244 counters were unchanged, 1,778 untraded, and 27 suspended.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd’s equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said investors were heartened by the return of foreign buying, which had seen unprecedented outflows since the beginning of 2025.

He said that with the local bourse closing above the 1,540 mark last week, the benchmark index may re-test the 1,600 mark soon. 

“As such, we believe the index will trend within the 1,540-1,555 range today. It is also worthwhile to note that the ringgit has strengthened to RM4.26 per US dollar,” Thong told Bernama. 

Meanwhile, Wall Street ended broadly higher on Friday, buoyed by the better-than-expected non-farm payrolls for April, easing fears of a United States (US) recession.

Unemployment remained at 4.2 per cent while the US 10-year yield edged higher to 4.30 per cent.

Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index (HSI) ascended above the 22,500 level as sentiment was boosted by optimism over the potential trade talks between China and the US, coupled with strong earnings from technology giants like Xiaomi and Alibaba.

Among heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals climbed 5.0 sen to RM3.47, Sunway, QL Resources, and Telekom added 3.0 sen each to RM4.82, RM4.83, and RM6.92, respectively, YTL Power International rose 2.0 sen to RM3.45, and YTL Corporation increased 1.0 sen to RM1.94. 

In active trade, West River grew half-a-sen to 39.5 sen, Sentoria was flat at half-a-sen, Nationgate rose 5.0 sen to RM1.57, OCR was half-a-sen lower at 3.5 sen, and Jiankun added half-a-sen to 3.0 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 28.80 points firmer at 11,518.18, the FBMT 100 Index appreciated 25.02 points to 11,282.26, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index strengthened 33.43 points to 11,423.78.

The FBM 70 Index jumped 82.25 points to 16,356.79, and the FBM ACE Index gained  20.40 points to 4,669.60.

Across sectors, the Financial Services Index accumulated 18.86 points to 18,259.81, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 0.83 of-a-point to 153.12, the Energy Index put on 1.35 points to 696.32, and the Plantation Index grew 12.73 points to 7,296.50.

-- BERNAMA