Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia pared yesterday's losses to open higher on Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street as investor sentiment improved amid easing geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran. At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 5.47 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 1,690.40 from Thursday's close of 1,684.93. The benchmark index opened 3.25 points higher at 1,688.18.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, on the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 214 to 141, while 268 counters were unchanged, 2,019 untraded, and 51 suspended. Turnover stood at 163.28 million shares worth RM148.67 million. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, noted that Wall Street climbed higher after reports suggested both the US and Iran agreed to extend the ceasefire and continue negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme. Consequently, Brent crude oil declined to US$93 per barrel, and the US 10-year yield eased to 4.453 per cent.
Thong Pak Leng highlighted that despite the FBM KLCI experiencing heavy late-session selling yesterday, the pullback is viewed as a bargain-hunting opportunity. However, he cautioned investors to remain vigilant due to potential impacts from the Japanese yen carry trade, indicated by the rise in Japan's 10-year bond yield. He anticipated the index to trade within the 1,680-1,700 range for the day.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank gained 12 sen to RM10.62, while Public Bank and CIMB each climbed one sen to RM4.78 and RM7.50, respectively. Tenaga Nasional remained unchanged at RM14.24, and IHH Healthcare fell four sen to RM8.95. Active stocks included Nationgate, Salutica, and Systech, which added half a sen each to 76.5 sen, 13 sen, and 24 sen, respectively. SFP Tech edged up 1.5 sen to 27.5 sen, and Inari Amertron increased by six sen to RM2.41.
Top gainers featured Nestle, which rose 52 sen to RM95.52, and Kelington, advancing 38 sen to RM7.81. Petronas Dagangan gained 26 sen to RM17.60, while Fraser and Neave and QL Resources bagged RM28.60 and RM3.60, respectively. Among the top losers, KESM Industries fell 25 sen to RM4.71, Allianz Malaysia lost 18 sen to RM21.74, PPB slid 12 sen to RM9.70, Harbour-Link declined 10 sen to RM1.30, and YTL Power International narrowed eight sen to RM4.07.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 41.74 points to 12,583.02, and the FBM Top 100 Index increased 43.21 points to 12,423.69. The FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 41.76 points to 12,592.67, while the FBM Mid 70 Index jumped 76.49 points to 18,290.18, and the FBM ACE Index edged up 14.43 points to 4,735.57. By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index grew 1.14 points to 199.47, the Financial Services Index notched up 77.33 points to 19,623.34, and the Plantation Index perked up 13.33 points to 8,518.28, whereas the Energy Index slipped 2.01 points to 780.89.