KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Tuesday after a long weekend, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street as easing geopolitical tensions lifted sentiment and supported early trading.
Overnight, Wall Street rose after US President Donald Trump delayed military strikes on Iranian power plants following “productive” talks with Tehran.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.38% to 46,208.47, while the S&P 500 gained 1.15% to 6,581.00 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.38% to 21,946.76.
The FBM KLCI rose 8.35 points, or 0.49%, to 1,729.06 at 9.11 am, after opening 11.38 points higher at 1,732.09 earlier.
Rakuten Trade believes the local bourse remains well supported and expects the index to hover within the 1,715–1,730 range today.
Meanwhile, Malacca Securities anticipates that the FBM KLCI will extend its bullish momentum following President Trump’s decision to pause strikes on Iranian power plants.
On REITs, it said the Inland Revenue Board’s decision to withdraw preferential withholding tax rates may make the sector less appealing to investors, adding that dividend hunters may shift towards banking stocks in the near term.
“Nevertheless, in view of the further retracement in REIT prices, IGB REIT, IGB Commercial REIT, and SunREIT may be favoured as they continue to demonstrate strong tenant retention and effective asset enhancement initiatives.
“Finally, counters such as ViTrox, Coraza, and TSH present attractive trading setups,” Malacca Securities said.
Among the gainers on Bursa Malaysia, F&N rose 66 sen to RM29.96, PETRONAS Gas added 54 sen to RM17.34, Dutch Lady
gained 30 sen to RM32 and APM Automotive climbed 13 sen to RM3.26.
On the other hand, Nestle slid 82 sen to RM99.58, United Plantations fell 42 sen to RM34.40, Hong Leong Industries lost 40 sen to RM16.70 and KLCC declined 25 sen to RM8.82.
