Bursa Malaysia opens higher for third straight day as Fed decision lifts market sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher for the third consecutive day today tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) kept interest rates unchanged at 3.75 per cent to 4.00 per cent.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.71 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 1,618.58 from yestereday’s close of 1,613.87.

The benchmark index opened 0.57 of a point higher at 1,614.44.

Across the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 198 to 104, while 291 counters were unchanged, 2,284 untraded, and 161 suspended.

Turnover stood at 173.26 million units worth RM74.17 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the Fed’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged was widely expected, although concerns over persistent inflation remain. 

On the home front, he said the benchmark index is gradually stabilising, although subdued trading activity suggests that investors remain selective.

“Nonetheless, we expect bargain hunting to continue among fundamentally sound banking, technology and plantation counters.

“Hence, for today, we envisage the benchmark index hovering within the 1,610-1,620 range,” he told Bernama. 

Among the heavyweight stocks, Maybank rose one sen to RM10.00, while Public Bank and CIMB each rose three sen to RM4.74 and RM7.14. Tenaga Nasional added 10 sen to RM13.32, while IHH Healthcare was flat at RM7.83. 

In active trade, Zetrix AI and Land & General were flat at 8.5 sen and 19 sen, respectively. Kanger International slid half a sen to one sen. CTOS Digital increased three sen to 42 sen, while Iconic Worldwide rose half a sen to 12 sen.

Nestle led the top gainers, adding 52 sen to RM98.50, while Bursa Malaysia Bhd gained 11 sen to RM8.11. MISC edged up 10 sen to RM8.39, and AMMB Holdings improved nine sen to RM6.38. 

Among the top losers, United Plantations lost 16 sen to RM29.16, while LPI Capital declined four sen to RM13.04. Spritzer and Hap Seng Plantations shed three sen each to RM3.66 and RM2.22. QL Resources slid two sen to RM3.78.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 31.42 points to 12,098.69, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 30.95 points to 11,890.23, the FBM Mid 70 Index gained 30.11 points to 17,478.13, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 26.34 points higher at 12,107.48 and the FBM ACE Index went up 1.57 points to 5,483.49.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.06 of a point to 179.09, the Energy Index increased 1.95 points to 848.32, the Financial Services Index jumped 62.23 points to 18,641.47, while the Plantation Index shed 5.12 points to 8,641.71. — Bernama