Bursa opens higher on positive Wall Street momentum

Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Tuesday, following the uptrend on Wall Street amid easing oil prices and a reduction in US Treasury sell-off. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 7.14 points, or 0.44%, to 1,638.89 from Monday's close of 1,631.75. The index also opened 4.63 points higher at 1,636.38. Gainers outpaced losers with a ratio of 272 to 202, while 364 counters remained unchanged, 1,944 were untraded, and 13 were suspended.

Turnover was reported at 440.19 million shares valued at RM164.76 million. Malacca Securities expressed optimism over Wall Street's positive overnight performance, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all advancing. They highlighted sectors such as mechanical and electrical, which may gain investor interest due to government focus on AI infrastructure and Tenaga Nasional's National Grid Backbone project.

Other sectors like ISF Group Bhd, Ranhill Utilities Bhd, and 99 Speed Mart Retail were also expected to see renewed buying interest. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research noted that the index was likely to remain within the 1,630-1,640 range as traders focused on AI-related stocks to counteract higher bond yields.

Among the top gainers were Batu Kawan, Nestle, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Petronas Dagangan, and Genting Plantations, while HeiTech Padu, Thong Guan Industries, Sunway Construction Group, Allianz Malaysia, and UMS Integration were among those that declined.