KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — Bursa Malaysia ended higher today, tracking positive cues from Wall Street, with sentiment further bolstered by Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 2.75 per cent.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.39 points 1,715.13, compared with yesterday’s close of 1,708.74.

The benchmark index opened 2.42 points higher at 1,711.16 and fluctuated between 1,708.47 and 1,716.23 throughout the day.

The broader market was also positive with gainers outnumbering losers 625 to 497, while 591 counters were unchanged, 1,059 untraded and 17 suspended.

Turnover declined to 3.90 billion units valued at RM3.21 billion from 4.20 billion units valued at RM3.52 billion on Wednesday. 

In a statement today, BNM said the latest indicators point to resilient global growth, supported by strong global tech expansion, improving supply conditions and stable labour markets.

It said inflation has edged lower in recent months but is expected to remain elevated given the lagged pass-through of energy costs to consumer prices.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI closed higher, tracking broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as optimism over the interest-rate outlook outweighed concerns about persistent global inflationary pressures.

“Sentiment was further supported by weaker-than-expected US private-sector job growth, which strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve may have greater scope to ease monetary policy,” he said.

Mohd Sedek said the market gained further momentum after the lunch break following BNM’s decision to maintain the OPR at 2.75 per cent, in line with expectations. The decision provided greater clarity on the domestic monetary policy outlook and lifted buying interest in index-linked counters.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank eased two sen to RM10.58, Public Bank added seven sen to RM5.00, CIMB Group gained 15 sen to RM7.99, Tenaga Nasional rose four sen to RM13.68, while IHH Healthcare slipped nine sen to RM7.99.

On the most active list, Zetrix AI put on two sen to 24 sen, Ingenieur Gudang perked up half a sen to 4.5 sen, Ni Hsin Group and Key Asic edged up one sen each to 27.5 sen and seven sen, respectively, and Salutica improved 1.5 sen to 11.5 sen.

For the top gainers, MI Technovation jumped 27 sen to RM5.82, Gamuda advanced 25 sen to RM4.67, United Plantations climbed 24 sen to RM33.02, Kee Ming Group surged 23 sen to RM2.41, and Kerjaya Prospek Group soared 20 sen to RM3.08.

Among the top losers, Nestle slid RM2.04 to RM94.48, Fraser & Neave slipped 36 sen to RM24.38, Kuala Lumpur Kepong declined 32 sen to RM22.38, MISC erased 23 sen to RM7.77, and Dutch Lady sank 20 sen to RM31.60.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 56.51 points to 12,683.34, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 56.00 points to 12,491.44, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 32.22 points to 12,442.57, the FBM 70 Index garnered 120.70 points to 17,905.28, and the FBM ACE Index improved 25.94 points to 5,187.66.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 128.06 points to 20,206.83, the Energy Index gained 8.08 points to 810.03, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.38 of a point to 187.16, while the Plantation Index shrank 33.45 points to 9,494.02.

The Main Market volume decreased to 2.39 billion units valued at RM2.88 billion compared with 2.67 billion units valued at RM3.20 billion on Wednesday.

Warrants turnover expanded to 995.66 million units worth RM132.91 million versus 942.18 billion units worth RM133.94 million previously.

The ACE Market volume trimmed to 515.65 million units valued at RM199.58 million from 592.31 million units valued at RM176.71 million yesterday. 

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 292.61 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (398.97 million), construction (151.66 million), technology (935.94 million), financial services (93.01 million), property (136.80 million), plantation (47.45 million), real estate investment trusts (16.58 million), closed-end fund (156,700), energy (87.72 million), healthcare (104.89 million), telecommunications and media (25.23 million), transportation and logistics (39.74 million), utilities (64.62 million), and business trusts (67,300). — Bernama