KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia extended yesterday’s gains at the opening bell today, taking its cue from Wall Street’s better performance overnight amid traders adopting a cautious mode ahead of the release of United States (US) consumer inflation data later today and of Budget 2024 tomorrow.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.95 points to 1,441.44 from Wednesday’s closing of 1,436.49.

The index opened 1.47 points better at 1,437.96.

On the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 168 to 140, while 254 counters were unchanged, 1,793 untraded and 11 suspended.

Turnover stood at 283.53 million units worth RM108.34 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said many are betting that the US Federal Reserve may pause its rate hike this November but prolong the prevailing elevated rate environment indefinitely.

“Therefore, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 65 points overnight while the Nasdaq added 97 points as the 10-year US Treasury yield eased to 4.56 per cent.

“Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index jumped by 228 points on optimism of a stronger Chinese economic recovery and that the US may stop hiking rates going forward,” he told Bernama.

Back home, he said, while the inflow of foreign funds is expected to persist, the benchmark index needs to see a solid uptrend beyond the 1,450 level the soonest possible to maintain its upward trajectory since mid-July.

“For today, we believe the underperforming telecommunication sector may experience some bargain-hunting activities and expect the index to hover within the 1,435-1,445 range,” he added.

Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said following the positive sentiment overall in the global stock markets, the brokerage firm expects buying support may persist on the local front, revolving around the ideas and catalysts in the upcoming Budget 2024, at least for the near term.

“(In relation to) Budget 2024, we believe investors will be focusing on the construction and building materials, while the property sector could be boosted by the Johor-related news flow. Meanwhile, news on the implementation of the Automotive High Tech Valley (AHTV) spearheaded by Geely with DRB-Hicom may provide a trading catalyst within the automotive sector.

“We like the renewable energy sector as the National Energy Transition Roadmap blueprint will be boosting the appetite for renewables going forward,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank increased five sen to RM8.95, Public Bank and CIMB gained two sen each to RM4.17 and RM5.62, respectively, and Tenaga Nasional perked nine sen to RM10.08, but Petronas Chemicals slid three sen to RM7.20.

Of the actives, SSF Home, which made its debut on the ACE Market today, was flat at 25 sen, and Classita and Kinergy Advancement were also unchanged at 7.5 sen and 33 sen, while Sapura Energy and Tanco inched down half-a-sen each to five sen and 56 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index climbed 27.60 points to 10,666.45, the FBMT 100 Index went up 28.09 points to 10,331.58, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 18.90 points to 10,897.24, and the FBM 70 Index rose 6.27 points to 14,152.69, while the FBM ACE Index decreased 16.07 points to 5,160.64.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index improved 58.67 points to 16,239.22, the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 0.27 of-a-point to 172.48, and the Plantation Index advanced 5.32 points to 6,878.96, while the Energy Index was 7.37 points lower at 871.14. – Bernama