Bursa opens higher on Wall St rebound

KUALA LUMPUR (May 8): Bursa Malaysia extended last week's gains to open higher on Monday (May 8) as the risk appetite in markets improved after Wall Street rose last Friday, said an analyst.

At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.12 points to 1,434.16 from last Friday’s close of 1,431.04.

The benchmark index opened 1.26 points firmer at 1,432.30.

The market breadth was positive with gainers surpassing decliners 199  to 123, while 226 counters were unchanged, 1,693 untraded, and 11 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 224.99 million units worth RM77.31 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said Wall Street rebounded from a four-day slump last Friday with the Dow Jones Index rising 1.7% on the back of strong jobs data and robust corporate earnings, offsetting concerns over a recession in the US.

It noted that the FBM KLCI had closed higher last Friday despite the mixed performance in regional markets.

“We reckon that the huge and widespread rebound on Wall Street last week could boost investors’ confidence in both the regional and local bourses.

“Some key economic indicators which will be released this week include the US inflation rate, Malaysia’s unemployment rate, and Malaysia’s first quarter of 2023 gross domestic product rate,” it said in a note.

The brokerage said that commodities-wise, Brent crude oil price rallied above US$75 per barrel while crude palm oil (CPO) price hovered above RM3,600 per tonne and gold price pulled back but stayed above US$2,000 per ounce.

Malacca Securities said the significant surge in on Nasdaq over the weekend may lead to buying momentum in technology counters.

Investors may also find buying opportunities in gold-related counters given the resilient gold prices, it said.

“Meanwhile, the electric vehicle sector may come under the limelight as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday (Sunday) highlighted Malaysia’s intention to attract more Chinese companies to spur the domestic automotive sector in alignment with ESG goals,” it added.

Of the heavyweight counters, Malayan Banking Bhd was down one sen to RM8.74 while Public Bank Bhd added one sen to RM4.02 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd rose one sen to RM8.99. Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd was four sen higher at RM7.10 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd gained four sen to RM5.17.

Among the actives, Vinvest Capital Holdings Bhd gained one sen to 21 sen, Computer Forms (Malaysia) Bhd rose one sen to 25.5 sen, Salutica Bhd increased 10 sen to 72.5 sen, while Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd was flat at 12 sen, and Sapura Energy Bhd was unchanged at four sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 21.30 points to 10,479.55, the FBMT 100 Index edged up 19.88 points to 10,173.71 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 13.64 points to 10,772.38.

The FBM ACE Index was 1.47 points firmer at 5,214.47 and the FBM 70 index earned 16.81 points to 13,498.34.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index climbed up 1.01 points to 170.50, the Financial Services Index strengthened 51.43 points to 15,760.17 and the Energy Index grew 8.83 points to 837.07.

The Plantation Index rose 2.12 points to 6,835.91.