BURSA MALAYSIA TRACKS WALL STREET TO OPEN HIGHER

By Siti Noor Afera Abu

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, buoyed by a positive spillover following Wall Street’s gains as US Senate lawmakers made headway toward a potential deal to end the US government shutdown.

At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.33 points to 1,632.71 from yesterday’s close of 1,627.38, after opening 4.14 points firmer at 1,631.52.

Market breadth was positive, with gainers leading losers 312 to 122  and 310 counters unchanged.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said a group of moderate Senate Democrats broke with party leaders on Sunday evening and voted to advance a bill to fund the government until late January, paving the way to end the US government shutdown.

This has resulted in resilient buying interest across Wall Street as investors brushed off risk-off sentiment.

“Following Wall Street’s resilient overnight performance, we expect the KLCI to rebound further. Moreover, we anticipate a spillover effect on local technology stocks, with a key focus on high-momentum stocks,” it said in a note.

Heavyweights, Maybank rose four sen to RM9.98, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare added one sen to RM4.28 and RM8.23, respectively, but Tenaga Nasional fell two sen to RM13.32.

On the most active list, MMAG and Insights were flat at 9.5 sen and 94.5 sen, respectively. Dagang Nexchange and Richtech rose half-a-sen to 32.5 sen and 24.5 sen, respectively, while Genetec was four sen firmer at 52.5 sen.

Among the top gainers are Malaysian Pacific, which increased 56 sen to RM31.66, Fraser & Neave added 46 sen to RM29.22, Petronas Gas rose 28 sen to RM18.78, and Hong Leong Bank inched up 22 sen to RM21.08.

Top losers included MCE, Perusahan Sadur Timah, and SHL fell five sen to RM1.74, RM1.89, and RM2.26, respectively, while Dialog was four sen weaker at RM1.84.

On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 66.84 points to 11,909.46, while the FBM Emas Index jumped 71.57 points to 12,156.15.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index firmed 74.31 points to 12,185.73, the FBM ACE Index improved 10.16 points to 5,111.01, and the FBM Mid 70 Index garnered 65.79 points to 17,015.51.

By sector, the Plantation Index increased 54.24 points to 8,174.56, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.53 of a point to 169.41, the Financial Services Index soared 104.69 points to 18,432.83, while the Energy Index declined 0.39 of a point to 760.31.

-- BERNAMA