Bursa rebounds on lower oil prices, easing US yields

Bursa Malaysia opened on a stronger note on Friday, edging higher as lower oil prices, easing US Treasury yields, and solid labor market data encouraged investors to hunt for bargains in technology and semiconductor shares, an analyst reported. The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI climbed 1.11 points, or 0.06%, to 1,675.85 by 9:10 AM Malaysian time, after closing 0.26% lower the previous day.

The index began the day 1.98 points higher at 1,676.72. Market breadth favored gainers, with 276 outperforming 111 underperforming counters. A total of 281 remained unchanged, 2,198 were untraded, and 22 suspended. Turnover amounted to 219.07 million shares valued at RM104.76 million. Thong Pak Leng, vice-president of equity research at Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, attributed the rebound to the US 10-year Treasury yield slipping below five percent, hovering around 4.93%, and Brent crude oil falling about one percent to US$104.08 per barrel.

Thong predicted the KLCI would trade between 1,670 and 1,685 that day, potentially consolidating around those levels. Notable movers included Maybank and CIMB, which fell two sen each to RM10.34 and RM7.67, respectively, while IHH Healthcare dipped six sen to RM7.63. Public Bank showed a slight gain at RM4.81, and Tenaga Nasional rose two sen to RM13.34.

Among the top gainers were Malaysian Pacific Industries, MN Holdings, and Pentamaster, all seeing gains of 10 sen or more. Conversely, Petronas Dagangan, Nestle, Chin Teck Plantations, Fraser & Neave, and SD Guthrie all recorded declines of 30 sen, 12 sen, six sen, six sen, and five sen, respectively. Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index gained 0.71 point to 185.57, while the Energy Index rose 2.36 points to 817.50.

The Financial Services Index slipped 14.36 points to 19,521.55, and the Plantation Index fell 12.47 points to 9,494.81.