KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Thursday, as signals from the US Federal Reserve for three rate cuts this year whet investors' appetite.
As widely expected the US Fed kept interest rates unchanged last night.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 2.77 points to 1,538.56 from Wednesday's close of 1,535.79.
The benchmark index opened 3.33 points higher at 1,539.12.
On the broader market, gainers outnumbered decliners 282 to 139, while 273 counters were unchanged.
Turnover amounted to 232.83 million units worth RM114.44 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI slumped to below the 1,540 level or down by 20 points over the last two days amid continuous selling from foreign funds.
"While we are perplexed of the recent sell-down, we believe the index will see a rebound today after a clearer picture from the Fed overnight. "Hence, we expect the index to hover within the 1,540-1,550 range today, underpin by interests on the banks, construction and utilities sectors," he told Business Times.
Meanwhile, Thong also said that Wall Street rallied as all three major indices closed at record highs after traders acknowledged the Federal Reserve's maintained interest rates with three adjustments until year end.
As a result, he said the Dow Jones Industrial (DJI) Average gained 401 points while the Nasdaq jumped by 203 points with the US 10-year yield easing to 4.277 per cent.
He noted that in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index (HSI) ended flat as sentiment remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting. "Meanwhile, China left lending rates unchanged in line with market expectations but strong earnings from Tencent injected some positivity," he said.