KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips on Bursa Malaysia edged higher as investors awaited the release of Bank Negara's rate decision on the heels of the US Federal Reserve's announcement to keep interest rates steady.
The benchmark FBM KLCI rose 0.41 points to edge above a key psychological level at 1,550.21, suggesting the recent buying momentum could continue given US markets' positive reception of the Fed decision.
Wall Street shares were lifted overnight on a late rally as the US central bank warned of inflation and job risks arising from the President's tariffs policy.
In Malaysia, the overnight policy rate decision is expected to remain status quo by the majority of economists, although there are some outliers who anticipate a 25 basis points rate cut to mitigate the potential downside risks of the US tariffs.
Meanwhile, TA Securities Research expects stocks to extend gains given the upbeat market sentiment following news that US and Chinese officials are scheduled to start formal trade talks this week.
"Immediate resistance remains at 1,564, which represents the 61.8%FR of the rally from the 1,369 low (June 2023) to the
1,684 peak (August 2024), with next upside hurdles seen at the 76.4%FR (1,610) and 1,644.
"Immediate support is kept at the 38.2%FR (1,490) with stronger supports seen at the 23.6%FR (1,444) followed by the 1,400 psychological level," it said in its commentary.
Stocks seeing early buying interest include PETRONAS Dagangan rising 38 sen to RM19.76, PETRONAS Gas gaining eight sen to RM17.36 and YTL Corp adding six sen to RM2.11.
SD Guthrie jumped 10 sen to RM4.66 following a positive earnings result while Frontken added six sen to RM3.75.
Most actively traded shares were Jiankum up 0.5 sen to three sen, Fibromat slumping 8.5 sen to 46.5 sen and Nationgate rising four sen to RM1.53
