ASX set to advance as Wall Street climbs; $A over US72c

Bursa Malaysia closed higher on Thursday, mirroring positive signals from Wall Street, with Bank Negara Malaysia's decision to keep the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 2.75% adding to the optimism. By 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index climbed 6.39 points to 1,715.13, up from yesterday's close of 1,708.74. The benchmark index began at 1,711.16 and oscillated between 1,708.47 and 1,716.23 throughout the day.

The broader market exhibited a positive trend, with more stocks gaining than losing, totaling 625 gainers against 497 losers. 591 counters remained unchanged, while 1,059 were untraded and 17 suspended. Turnover for the day fell to 3.90 billion units, valued at RM3.21 billion, down from 4.20 billion units, valued at RM3.52 billion the previous day.

Bank Negara Malaysia stated that recent indicators suggest steady global growth, driven by strong technological expansion, improved supply conditions, and stable labor markets. Inflation has slightly decreased in recent months but remains elevated due to the delayed impact of energy costs on consumer prices. Sedek Jantan, director of investment strategy and country economist at IPPFA Sdn Bhd, noted that the FBM KLCI ended higher, following broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight.

He attributed the market's uplift to a weaker-than-expected US private-sector job growth, which boosted expectations of potential monetary policy easing by the Federal Reserve. Stocks such as Maybank, Public Bank, CIMB Group, Tenaga Nasional, and IHH Healthcare saw gains, while Nestle, Fraser & Neave, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, MISC, and Dutch Lady experienced declines.

The Main Market volume dropped to 2.39 billion units, valued at RM2.88 billion, compared to 2.67 billion units, valued at RM3.20 billion the previous day.