KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 — Bursa Malaysia pared yesterday’s losses to open higher on Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street as investor sentiment improved amid easing geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran.

At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 5.47 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 1,690.40 from Thursday’s close of 1,684.93.

The benchmark index opened 3.25 points higher at 1,688.18.

On the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 214 to 141, while 268 counters were unchanged, 2,019 untraded and 51 suspended.

Turnover stood at 163.28 million shares worth RM148.67 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, said Wall Street scaled higher following reports that both the US and Iran have agreed to extend the ceasefire and continue negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.

As a result, Brent crude oil declined to US$93 per barrel while the US 10-year yield eased to 4.453 per cent.

“Back home, despite the FBM KLCI succumbing to heavy late-session selling yesterday, we view the pullback as a bargain-hunting opportunity.

“However, investors should remain vigilant, as the effects of the Japanese yen carry trade may be unfolding, underscored by the rise in Japan’s 10-year bond yield. Thus, we expect the index to trade within the 1,680–1,700 range today,” he told Bernama.

Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank gained 12 sen to RM10.62, Public Bank and CIMB climbed one sen each to RM4.78 and RM7.50, respectively. Tenaga Nasional remained unchanged at RM14.24, while IHH Healthcare fell four sen to RM8.95.

As for the active stocks, Nationgate, Salutica and Systech all added half a sen each to 76.5 sen, 13 sen and 24 sen, respectively. SFP Tech edged up 1.5 sen to 27.5 sen, and Inari Amertron was six sen up at RM2.41. 

Top gainers Nestle rose 52 sen to RM95.52, Kelington advanced 38 sen to RM7.81, Petronas Dagangan garnered 26 sen to RM17.60, Fraser & Neave and QL Resources bagged RM28.60 and RM3.60, respectively.

Of the top losers, KESM Industries fell 25 sen to RM4.71, Allianz Malaysia lost 18 sen to RM21.74, PPB slid 12 sen to RM9.70, Harbour-Link declined 10 sen to RM1.30, and YTL Power International narrowed eight sen to RM4.07.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 41.74 points to 12,583.02, the FBM Top 100 Index increased 43.21 points to 12,423.69, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 41.76 points to 12,592.67, the FBM Mid 70 Index jumped 76.49 points to 18,290.18, and the FBM ACE Index edged up 14.43 points to 4,735.57.

By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index grew 1.14 points to 199.47, the Financial Services Index notched up 77.33 points to 19,623.34, and the Plantation Index perked up 13.33 points to 8,518.28, while the Energy Index slipped 2.01 points to 780.89. — Bernama