Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Tuesday, driven by continued investor interest in data centre-related counters, particularly in the technology and utilities sectors, following strong earnings reports from semiconductor players from the United States (US).
According to a Bernama report, at 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.81 points or 0.39 per cent to 1,724.08 compared to 1,717.27 at the close on Monday.
The benchmark index opened trading with a gain of 4.13 points to 1,721.40.
Overall, market sentiment was negative as the number of losers outnumbered gainers by 179 to 172, while 324 counters were unchanged, 2,043 were untraded, and 86 others were suspended.
Total trading volume was recorded at 166.50 million units worth RM83.84 million.
AI Industry Has Potential to Reduce US Inflation
According to a research note by Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, in the expected leadership transition environment at the US Federal Reserve (Fed), where Kevin Warsh is seen as a potential successor to Jerome Powell, his view that artificial intelligence (AI)-driven productivity can help reduce inflation is likely to continue to support sentiment towards semiconductor and AI-related stocks.
While US President Donald Trump has voiced doubts over the latest proposal from Iran, it is believed that investors' attention has shifted to the earnings reports by the 'Magnificent Seven', a group of seven high-performing and influential US technology and growth stocks, which will be announced on Wednesday and are expected to determine the direction of Wall Street in the short term.
The stocks in the group include Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corporation, and Meta Platforms Inc.
According to Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd Vice President of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng, some investors, especially in banking stocks, may have decided to book profits.
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose four sen to RM11.14, Public Bank rose three sen to RM4.75, CIMB gained nine sen to RM7.74, while Tenaga Nasional fell two sen to RM14.56 and IHH Healthcare remained flat at RM8.77.
Profit and Loss Counter
Among the most active stocks, Luster Industries and SMRT Holding jumped half a sen to 4.5 sen and 17.5 sen respectively, UEM Sunrise added one sen to 60 sen, but VS Industry fell 0.5 sen to 22 sen and Nationgate fell one sen to 78 sen.
Among the top gainers, Hong Leong Bank rose 26 sen to RM22.60, while Vstecs, KESM and United Plantation rose 18 sen to RM5.24, RM3.91 and RM31.80 respectively, and Petronas Gas rose 14 sen to RM18.20.
Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries fell 34 sen to RM37.54, MI Technovation fell nine sen to RM3.43, Kelington Group fell seven sen to RM6.31, PGF and Rapid Synergy Capital lost six sen to RM1.64 and 71 sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose by 37.22 points to 12,753.35, the FBMT 100 Index rose by 37.93 points to 12,587.32, the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 24.99 points to 12,685.08 and the FBM 70 Index jumped 4.18 points to 18,173.26, while the FBM ACE Index declined 3.12 points to 4,654.90.
By sector, the Financial Services Index rose 112.17 points to 20,089.08, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased 0.14 points to 195.05, the Energy Index increased 3.25 points to 834.86, and the Plantation Index increased 32.60 points to 8,867.17.
