KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI stayed mostly flat at at Friday's opening, as investors await the release of the country's economic report card for the final quarter of 2024, due out at noon.
Malaysian investors remained cautious despite US President Donald Trump's delay in the implementation of reciprocal tariffs, which sent Wall Street equities higher overnight. Fears over increased trade costs had previously sparked fears over inflation pressure and rising Treasury yields.
At 9am, the FBM KLCI was up 0.63 points to 1,592.91.
Rakuten Trade said in its outlook it was surprised by the selling by foreign funds in the previous session as they took profit from recent gains.
However, the research firm maintained that funds will converge in Asia, with the local bourse benefiting from the spillover effect.
"As such, we expect the index to hover within the 1,590-1,600 range today," it said.
Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Research said there are trading opportunities in Gas Malaysia following the Economy Minister's announcement adressing capex challenges in the gas industry.
Ahead of the earnings season, the research firm expects traders to position themselves in export-oriented stocks such as gloves, which stand to benefit from a strong dollar outlook and ongoing tariffs on China’s products, and construction and technology stocks that are tied to the data centre supply chain.
It added that it remains positive on banking and REITs as more conservative investments, as they are supported by Malaysia’s growing economy, increased mall footfall, and high dividend payouts.
In early morning trade, leading blue chips on the rise included Sunway up 11 sen to RM4.73, IHH gaining four sne to RM7.25 and Press Metal
rising five sen to RM5.01.
Of actives, Harvest Miracle gained 0.5 sen to 15 sen, Dialog dropped 26 sen to RM1.55 and Widad was unchanged at four sen.
