KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): Bursa Malaysia opened broadly higher on Thursday morning (Aug 11), reversing Wednesday’s losses, as investors’ risk appetite recovered following lower-than-expected inflation data from the US.
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At 9.05 am, the benchmark FBM KLCI was 10.19 points higher at 1,502.52, compared with 1,492.33 at Wednesday’s close.
The benchmark index opened 5.48 points better at 1,497.81.
Market breadth was positive with gainers trouncing losers 257 to 71, while 172 counters were unchanged, 1,783 untraded and 12 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 159.82 million units worth RM70.04 million.
The US consumer price index (CPI) data, which measures inflation, came in at 8.5% in July, below the market’s forecast of 8.7%, suggesting that the country’s economy was recovering faster than expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped by 535 points, and the Nasdaq gained 361 points, while the US 10-year yield remained unchanged at 2.78%.
Rakuten Trade vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the lower CPI reading provides some breathing space for the US Federal Reserve to hike rates aggressively.
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“In view of the robust performance on Wall Street overnight, we reckon the KLCI will reverse recent weakness, and expect the index to hover in the 1,495-1,510 range today (Thursday).
“We believe buying interest may also emerge for technology stocks after recent selling activities,” he told Bernama.
Two-thirds of the 30-index linked counters recorded gains on Thursday morning, led by Inari Amertron Bhd, which rose by 2.83% or eight sen to RM2.90, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd was the biggest contributor to the rise in the composite index at 2.32 points, after the counter gained 17 sen to RM8.89.
Meanwhile, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) added five sen to RM8.95, Public Bank Bhd bagged four sen to RM4.67, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd perked three sen to RM5.33 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) was also three sen higher at RM8.46, while IHH Healthcare Bhd was flat at RM6.42.
Of the actives, G3 Global Bhd inched up half a sen to four sen, Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) was two sen higher at 89 sen, SFP Tech Holdings Bhd rose four sen to 98 sen, and Infoline Tec Group Bhd edged up 1.5 sen to 38 sen, while Sapura Energy Bhd was flat at five sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 78.41 points to 10,640.15, the FBMT 100 Index garnered 74.39 points to 10,388.56, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 83.91 points to 10,753.21, the FBM 70 soared 106.53 points to 12,658.63, and the FBM ACE bagged 35.44 points to 4,867.07.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index climbed 97.92 points to 16,747.53, the Energy Index picked up 4.7 points to 651.34, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 2.48 points to 183.43, and the Plantation Index went up 23.36 points to 7,147.23.-BERNAMA