US interest rate hike boosts sentiment on Bursa Malaysia
Bernama
March 16, 2017 09:51 MYT
March 16, 2017 09:51 MYT
Actively-traded stocks included Hibiscus Petroleum and IFCA MSC, rose one sen each to 43.5 sen and 46 sen, respectively, while Borneo Oil and MMAG Holdings were flat at 18.5 sen and five sen, respectively. - Filepic
Bursa Malaysia opened higher today on positive spillover effect, following the 0.25 basis point increase in interest rate by the US Federal Reserve (Fed), a dealer said.
At 9 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 9.5 points better at 1,726.86 from Wednesday's close of 1,717.36.
The index opened 8.98 points higher at 1,726.34.
Market breath was positive with gainers outpacing decliners 190 to 46 with 1,029 counters unchanged, 449 untraded and 27 others were suspended.
Turnover stood at 596.86 million shares worth RM321.29 million.
A dealer said investors were happy over the spillover effect of the Fed's decision, the second since December, on the local equity market.
Echoing this, Maybank Investment Bank, in its note, said it expected positive impact and hoped to see the benchmark index move between 1,717 and 1,734 points today.
Hong Leong Investment Bank said as the Fed's move was widely anticipated, stock markets reacted on a positive note.
Also, Fed Chairman Janet Yellen said there was a possibility interest rates could be raised twice this year as the economy was recovering on a healthy pace, in-line with Fed's objectives.
"Buying interest might spillover towards Malaysia's stock market after a relief rally in Wall Street, coupled with higher oil prices," the investment bank said.
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose nine sen to RM8.84, Tenaga added four sen to RM13.72, Public Bank gained two sen to RM19.88 while Sime Darby was three sen better at RM9.16.
Actively-traded stocks included Hibiscus Petroleum and IFCA MSC, rose one sen each to 43.5 sen and 46 sen, respectively, while Borneo Oil and MMAG Holdings were flat at 18.5 sen and five sen, respectively.
The FBM Emas Index increased 60.17 points to 12,203.80, the FBMT 100 Index improved 60.34 points to 11,859.56 while the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 63.59 points higher at 12,616.26.
The FBM 70 advanced 53.70 points to 14,161.81 and the FBM Ace gained 14.79 points to 5,418.22.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index rose 55.24 points to 8,156.08, Finance Index jumped 87.00 points to 15,496.01 and the Industrial Index perked 17.56 points to 3,258.09. -- Bernama