KUALA LUMPUR: As Asian markets await the Bank of Japan's impending rate hike, Bursa Malaysia stayed range-bound with some upside bias.
The benchmark FBM KLCI is up over the week, as it has edged higher on the back of the stronger ringgit and end-of-year window-dressing activities.
At 9am on Friday, the index was up 1.15 points to 1,648.05, about 12 points higher than the closing price a week earlier.
There could be some positive spillover from Wall Street, which rebounded overnight following a cooler-than-expected inflation report that offered some support to the tech sector. Tech shares that had been beset by fears of overvaluation and mounting debt in recent days, leading to some year-end profit-taking and a rotation into more defensive plays.
"The rebound on Wall Street is expected to lift the local market today, though sentiment remains cautious in the absence of a clear domestic market direction," said TA securities in its market commentary.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade is optimistic over the strength of the ringgit, believing foreign funds to be returning to the market in view of the local currency firming up to 4.08 against the greenback.
"As such, we expect the index to hover within the 1,645-1,660 range today," it said.
On the stock market today, United Malacca jumped 15 sen to RM5.89 following a positive quarterly result. Aeon Credit Service
also gained seven sen to RM5.62 on the back of its own earnings announcement.
Binastra gained six sen to RM2.16 while Axiata climbed five sen to RM2.643.
Among the leading actives, Pharmaniaga rose 0.5 sen to 26.5 sen, Velesto gained 0.5 sen to 28.5 sen and Insight Analytics jumped 4.5 sen to 99 sen.
