KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher on today, buoyed by regional market optimism and Wall Street’s rebound following the US Federal Reserve (Fed)’s rate cut.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.17 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 1,612.17, after opening 1.86 points higher at 1,612.86.

Turnover stood at 149.02 million shares, valued at RM95.52 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street strengthened after the Fed cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points.

“Sentiment was also lifted after Fed chair Jerome Powell ruled out any rate hike in the foreseeable future amid a still-weak labour market. 

“Consensus is now hopeful for two to three more rate cuts in 2026, while the US 10-year Treasury yield has eased to 4.155 per cent,” he told Bernama.

Back home, Thong said his firm expects the benchmark FBM KLCI to hover within the 1,610–1,620 range today.

Among heavyweights, Maybank added two sen to RM10.14, CIMB Group rose two sen to RM7.84, Tenaga Nasional gained two sen to RM12.76, IHH Healthcare increased one sen to RM8.41, while Public Bank remained unchanged at RM4.37.

On the most active list, BMS Holdings added half-a-sen to 19.5 sen, Astro Malaysia rose half-a-sen to 10.5 sen, Main Market debutant Wasco Greenergy eased 2.5 sen to 97.5 sen, Velesto Energy gained half-a-sen to 27.5 sen, and Hartalega slipped three sen to RM1.00.

Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, up 42 sen to RM32.60, Petronas Chemicals rose seven sen to RM3.37, Dufu Technology gained five sen to RM1.66, Vitrox added five sen to RM4.32, and Dialog advanced four sen to RM1.80.

Among the top losers, Gamuda fell 14 sen to RM4.99, Petronas Gas slipped six sen to RM17.20, Mudajaya shed 5.5 sen to 42 sen, Sarawak Oil Palms eased four sen to RM3.74, and Yinson declined four sen to RM2.31.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 12.64 points to 11,929.55, the FBM Emas Shariah added 15.01 points to 11,803.89, the FBMT 100 Index gained 12.56 points to 11,713.83, the FBM ACE Index improved 12.73 points to 4,743.71, and the FBM 70 Index advanced 36.10 points to 16,687.17.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 14.06 points to 18,932.46, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.55 of-a-point to 167.54, and the Energy Index gained 2.37 points to 759.80, while the Plantation Index eased 3.52 points to 8,059.31. — Bernama