The US Federal Reserve (Fed) is expected to announce its decision on interest rates later today, while in Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) monetary policy committee is meeting today and tomorrow.
At 9.05 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.50 points to 1,450.42 from yesterday’s close of 1,445.92.
The market bellwether opened higher by 5.06 points at 1,450.98.
Market breadth was positive with advancers leading decliners 120 to 103, while 191 counters were unchanged, 1,904 were not traded, and 13 others were suspended.
Turnover stood at 93.89 million units worth RM45.59 million.
Wall Street closed lower following the release of better-than-expected US jobs data, which dented hopes that the Fed may ease its stance on rate hikes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 0.24% to close at 32,653.20, while the S&P500 slid 0.41% to 3,856.10 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.89% to 10,890.85.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said that as a result, the DJIA lost 80 points after a strong opening while Nasdaq declined 97 points as the US 10-year yield remained at the 4.05% level.
On the local front, the FBM KLCI had lost 20 points over the last two trading days and the brokerage reckoned some bargain-hunting activities would emerge although the market undertone had turned cautious.
“For today, we expect the index to hover in the 1,440 to 1,455 range with buying interest focused on plantation stocks,” the brokerage said in a note.
It said crude palm oil surged past the RM4,200-per-tonne level as Indonesia raised its exports reference price while Brent crude climbed to almost US$95 per barrel due to a lower inventory level.
Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank and Sime Darby Plantation rose two sen each to RM8.56 and RM4.35, respectively.
Both Public Bank and MISC were unchanged at RM4.41 and RM7.20, respectively, while Hong Leong Bank fell six sen to RM20.82.
Among the actives, Shin Yang Shipping dropped two sen to 87 sen, KNM added half-a-sen to 4.5 sen, and Hibiscus gained 1.5 sen to RM1.01, while SNS Network and MNC Wireless were flat at 23.5 sen and one sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 26.52 points to 10,293.65, the FBM 70 earned 16.61 points to 12,225.19, the FBMT 100 Index grew by 27.05 points to 10,029.17, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 27.03 points to 10,362.73, and the FBM ACE was up 0.10 of a point to 4,878.12.
Sector-wise, the energy index was 3.32 points firmer at 698.82, the financial services index expanded 29.49 points to 16,341.79, the industrial products and services index edged up 0.76 of a point to 175.43, and the plantation index rose 30.21 to 6,823.14.
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