KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Wednesday buoyed by the overall sentiment in the overnight positive US equity market.

At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 1.62 points to 1,607.75 versus 1,606.13 at Tuesday’s close.

The FBM KLCI opened 2.34 points higher at 1,608.47.

Gainers led decliners 259 to 234, while 325 counters were unchanged, 1,583 untraded, and nine others suspended.

Turnover totalled 360.24 million units worth RM158.78 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said US retail sales came in below expectation and the market could be pushing for an interest rate cut anytime in the second half of 2024 (2H24).

It also noted that Wall Street ended higher with Nasdaq still leading and that Nvidia has displaced Microsoft and Apple as the largest market-cap company, making it the most valuable public company in the US.

On the technical front, it said the key index was mixed with resistance expected around 1,620-1,625 and support set at 1,585-1,590, said the brokerage firm in a research note today.

On the local bourse, heavyweights YTL Corporation recovered 7.0 sen to RM3.57, Petronas Chemicals Group rose 5.0 sen to RM6.56, CelcomDigi and Axiata increased 3.0 sen each to RM3.75 and RM2.78, respectively, and Maybank added 2.0 sen to RM9.95.

In the top gainers list, PPB Group appreciated 12 sen to RM14.62, PIE grew 10 sen to RM6.85, AEON Credit Service perked up 9.0 sen to RM7.79 and Heitech Padu gained 8.0 sen to RM2.02.

Among the most active counters, Ingenieur was flat at 7.0 sen, ATA IMS fell 3.5 sen to 48 sen, KTI Landmark eased half-a-sen to 29.5 sen, Ho Wah Genting was 3.5 sen higher at 32.5 sen and WCT put on 4.0 sen to 79.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 7.48 points to 12,372.62, the FBMT 100 Index gained 6.88 points to 11,940.00, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index perked up 4.97 points to 12,744.34.

The FBM 70 Index however slid 10.57 points to 18,094.64 but the FBM ACE Index rose 8.16 points to 5,857.43.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 1.77 points to 17,517.92, the Industrial Products and Services Index trimmed 0.09 of-a-point to 199.58, the Energy Index dropped 1.91 points to 986.43, and the Plantation Index was 3.23 points lower at 7,027.24. — Bernama