KUALA LUMPUR: Domestic equities rose after the Thaipusam break, despite some global investors' anxiety over the US Federal Reserve chair's latest remarks that rate cuts may not materialise owing to the escalation of the trade war.
At the start of trading, the FBM KLCI was up 2.37 points to 1,592.32, playing catch up to Wall Street's Monday night gains on the back of a technology-stock rally.
There was some strong buying interest in bank stocks including Maybank, gaining eight sen to RM10.54, RHB rising six sen to RM6.54 and Public Bank adding two sen to RM4.47.
Gamuda jumped six sen to RM5.45 and Telekom Malaysia climbed six sen to RM6.83. Kuala Lumpur Kepong was 18 sen higher at RM20.40.
Meanwhile, consumer giant Nestle gained 18 sen to RM90.98 while Dutch Lady
rose 29 sen to RM31.
Of actives, Ingenieur was flat at 5.5 sen, Harvest Miracle was up 0.5 sen to 16.5 sen and MYEG gained two sen to RM1.03.
The equities performance was in line with Malacca Securities Research's projection that investors will turn to more conservative plays amid the ongoing volatility.
"We favour consumer, banking, and REITs, which should outperform amid current market uncertainties, supported by stable yield and a continued recovery in the mall footfall traffic," said the research firm in a note.
It added also that US President Donald Trump's 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports should open trading opportunities for local steel players, as the policy is expected to primarily impact export players.
Overnight, Fed chair Jerome Powell told a Senate Committee that there was no rush to cut interest rates given the strong job market and elevated inflation. The comments sent US Treasury yields higher and dampened investor appetite for equities, although stock prices remained supported by strong corporate earnings.
Amid Trump's trade policies, which could put more upward pressure on inflation, the Fed will be looking for more evidence of a softening job market and consumer prices before it proceeds with any rate cuts in 2025.
