KUALA LUMPUR: Traders on Bursa Malaysia were cautiously optimistic about the AI-driven push in US markets overnight as the ongoing crisis in the Middle East continued to dominate the investing narrative.
The FBM KLCI rose 6.6 points to 1,703.16 at the opening bell, tracking Wall Street's performance amid new developments at tech giants Meta and Nvidia, Tesla and Micron.
There was also some small relief after the US agreed to allowing some Iraninan oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, which eased the chokehold on global oil supply. Brent futures, however, remains elevated above the US$100 a barrel level.
According to Apex Research's latest report, investor attention will be on US President Donald Trump's efforts to assemble an international coalition to secure the strait, alongside pressure on allies and China to support reopening efforts.
It said the higher oil prices and resulting inflation were intensified concerns ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting later this week. Interest rates are expected to remains unchanged at the meeting but guifance on the rate outlook will be closely watched.
"Against this backdrop, the FBM KLCI is expected to trade cautiously with a slight downside bias, tracking mixed global market cues and persistent geopolitical uncertainties," it said.
On the blue-chip index, banks rebounded on hope over the outlook of the global economy. Maybank gained 10 sne ot RM11.58, Hong Leong Bank rose 12 sen to RM22.56 and RHB climbed eight sen to RM8.33.
Pharmaniaga
, which came out of Practic Note 17 status, rose two sen to 27.5 sen. Handal added one sen to four sen and Velesto was unchanged at 32.5 sen.
In regional markets, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.2% to 53,858 in a moment of reprieve from the selling pressure. South Korea's Kospi was up 2.48% to 5,687. Singapore' Straits Times gained 0.84% to 4,909.
