Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street strengthened after the Fed cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points.
“Sentiment was also lifted after Fed chair Jerome Powell ruled out any rate hike in the foreseeable future amid a still-weak labour market.
“Consensus is now hopeful for two to three more rate cuts in 2026, while the US 10-year Treasury yield has eased to 4.155%,” he told Bernama.
Back home, Thong said his firm expects the benchmark FBM KLCI to hover within the 1,610–1,620 range today.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) improved 1.17 points, or 0.07% to 1,612.17 from yesterday’s close of 1,611.00.
The index had opened 1.86 points higher at 1,612.86.
Broader market sentiment was positive, with gainers leading decliners 186 to 101. A total of 270 counters were unchanged, 2,201 untraded and 16 suspended.
Turnover stood at 149.02 million shares, valued at RM95.52 million.
Among heavyweights, Maybank added 2 sen to RM10.14, CIMB Group rose 2 sen to RM7.84, Tenaga Nasional gained 2 sen to RM12.76, IHH Healthcare increased 1 sen to RM8.41, while Public Bank remained unchanged at RM4.37.
On the most active list, BMS Holdings added 0.5 sen to 19.5 sen, Astro Malaysia rose 0.5 sen to 10.5 sen, Main Market debutant Wasco Greenergy eased 2.5 sen to 97.5 sen, Velesto Energy gained 0.5 sen to 27.5 sen, and Hartalega slipped 3 sen to RM1.
Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, up 42 sen to RM32.60, Petronas Chemicals rose 7 sen to RM3.37, Dufu Technology gained 5 sen to RM1.66, Vitrox added 5 sen to RM4.32 and Dialog advanced 4 sen to RM1.80.
Among the top losers, Gamuda fell 14 sen to RM4.99, Petronas Gas slipped 6 sen to RM17.20, Mudajaya shed 5.5 sen to 42 sen, Sarawak Oil Palms eased 4 sen to RM3.74 and Yinson declined 4 sen to RM2.31.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 12.64 points to 11,929.55, the FBM Emas Shariah added 15.01 points to 11,803.89, the FBMT 100 Index gained 12.56 points to 11,713.83, the FBM ACE Index improved 12.73 points to 4,743.71, and the FBM 70 Index advanced 36.10 points to 16,687.17.
Sector-wise, the financial services index rose 14.06 points to 18,932.46, the industrial products and services index edged up 0.55 of-a-point to 167.54, and the energy index gained 2.37 points to 759.80, while the plantation index eased 3.52 points to 8,059.31.