Kuala Lumpur: Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session on a higher note as global markets experienced a strong risk-on push following positive developments in US-China trade discussions. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 2.04 percent, or 31.56 points, reaching 1,578.06 from Friday’s close of 1,546.50. The benchmark index had earlier opened 14.89 points higher at 1,561.39.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, market breadth was positive with 758 gainers outnumbering 309 decliners, while 400 counters remained unchanged, 916 were untraded, and eight were suspended. The turnover amounted to 2.62 billion shares valued at RM2.23 billion.
ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves highlighted that the US and China have agreed to a significant 115-percentage-point reduction in tariffs. “Positive flows rotating into risk assets, cyclicals and technology sectors could lead to gains in Asia following strong performances on Wall Street,” he noted in a statement to Bernama. Attention is now directed towards the upcoming US Consumer Price Index (CPI) release.
Alves mentioned that although inflation data usually influences markets considerably, the current recalibration of US Federal Reserve rate-cut expectations means there is little room for further hawkish repricing. He added, “Even a hot CPI print may not push short-term rates much higher. It could stoke stagflation concerns, potentially weighing on rates in the near term while supporting the US dollar. While that could hold the buying momentum, the sentiment remains positive around US-China talks.”
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 31 sen to RM10.20, Public Bank added six sen to RM4.50, and Tenaga Nasional gained eight sen to RM14.38, while MYDIY fell three sen to RM1.67. In active trading, Inari increased 27 sen to RM2.21, while MYEG and Harvest gained one sen each to 91.5 sen and 16 sen, respectively. Tanco and Sapura were flat at 93 sen and 4.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was up 240.19 points to 11,760.23, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 241.85 points to 11,527.78, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 200.33 points to 11,676.09. The FBM 70 Index gained 395.57 points to 16,709.27, and the FBM ACE Index bagged 30.51 points to 4,713.46. Across sectors, the Financial Services Index soared 483.85 points to 18,539.14, the Energy Index gained 22.85 points to 716.29, and the Plantation Index increased 86.47 points to 7,332.90. The Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 3.57 points to 158.01.