KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia commenced the day on a positive footing, influenced by the positive trends observed in the US equity markets from the previous night.
At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.75 points to 1,449.77 from Tuesday's closing of 1,448.02.
The key index began the session with a slight increase, opening 0.61 points higher at 1,448.63.
On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers at 161 to 160, while 257 counters were unchanged.
Turnover stood at 201.25 million units valued at RM78.76 million.
Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI ended flat attributed to late buying support amid another lackluster day. Nonetheless, he believes the local bourse to see some buying activities emerging today following positive cues from the US on potential softer interest rates. "Thus, we expect the index to hover within the 1,450 to 1,460 range," he told Business Times.
Meanwhile, Thong said Wall Street ended in positive territory following statement from a Federal Reserve official that current policy may be sufficient to slow economic growth and curb inflation hence paving hopes for the end of rate hikes.
He said as a result, the Dow Jones Industrial (DJI) Average added 83 points (0.24 per cent) while the Nasdaq gained 41 points (0.29 per cent) as the US 10-year yield easing to 4.325 per cent.
In Hong Kong, Thong said the Hang Seng Index (HSI) slumped 171 points (0.98 per cent) on growing concerns of corporate earnings growth going forward. "There were also new concerns on Chinese Banks' asset quality due to possibility of new lending measures to support the local property sector," he noted.