Kuala Lumpur:Bursa Malaysia began trading on a positive note on Monday, following the gains seen on Wall Street. This uptick came after softer US payroll growth lessened the likelihood of an immediate interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) saw an increase of 5.01 points, or 0.31 percent, reaching 1,635.88 from the previous close of 1,630.87 last Friday. The index commenced trading 2.55 points higher at 1,633.42. Across the broader market, there were 224 gainers versus 158 losers, with 337 counters unchanged, 2,054 remaining untraded, and 24 suspended. The turnover at the time stood at 206.30 million shares valued at RM98.78 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, noted that the US 10-year yield stayed elevated at 5.28 percent, while Brent crude oil was priced at US$102.25 per barrel. These factors continue to keep market sentiment sensitive to interest rates and developments in West Asia. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped below 24,000 points, affected by weakening financial and technology shares. Meanwhile, the FBM KLCI's higher close last Friday has set the stage for potential stabilisation within the 1,625-1,635 range, with bargain hunting providing support amid a cautious market sentiment.
Among major stocks, Maybank, Public Bank, CIMB, and Tenaga Nasional all saw gains of four sen, trading at RM10.06, RM4.70, RM7.69, and RM13.00, respectively. Conversely, IHH Healthcare slipped by six sen to RM7.74. The active trading session saw VS Industry rise by three sen to 32 sen, Notion VTec up by four sen to 74.5 sen, and SFP Tech gaining a sen to 28.5 sen, while Dagang NeXchange remained unchanged at 51.5 sen.
Leading the gainers, Samaiden increased by 19 sen to RM3.03, UWC went up by 16 sen to RM7.73, Critical Holdings climbed 15 sen to RM2.61, Mi Technovation rose nine sen to RM5.30, and Solarvest advanced eight sen to RM4.25. On the other hand, Nestle led the decliners, falling by 32 sen to RM89.20, followed by Vitrox which eased 14 sen to RM10.32, Kobay Technology down 12 sen to RM2.18, Kelington dropped five sen to RM8.58, and YTL Power International decreased by four sen to RM5.64.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index gained 28.14 points to 17,510.07, the FBM Emas Index rose by 33.81 points to 12,204.38, and the FBM Top 100 Index increased by 32.24 points to 11,989.92. The FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 22.28 points to 12,082.60, while the FBM ACE Index improved by 31.41 points to 5,560.87.
In sectoral performance, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose by 0.59 points to 179.11. The Energy Index increased by 2.57 points to 835.60, the Financial Services Index surged by 97.59 points to 19,138.10, and the Plantation Index went up by 2.23 points to 9,058.78.