KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's semiconductor stocks surged on Friday, on the heels of a regional rally sparked by Microsoft's outsized earnings announcement, which helped to alleviate fears of a tech bubble.
Malaysia's blue-chip FBM KLCI, however, was down a fraction to 1,719.55 in the first 10 minutes of trading, in contrast to the jubilant mood in major Asian markets.
South Korea's Kospi surged an eye-watering 15% to 6,440 as the country's semiconductor giants tracked the tech rally on Wall Street higher.
Japan's Nikkei was up over 5% to 3,239, in anticipation of the central bank's interest rate decision after reports of an intervention to prop up the local currency.
On Bursa Malaysia, traders jumped into semiconductor plays, taking the overall tech sector 4% higher, with leading gainers including Vitrox rising RM1.18 to RM9.18, Unisem adding 20 sen to RM4.82 and Pentamaster climbing 19 sen to RM5.19.
Over the coming term, investors will continue to assess whether the latest earnings from Microsoft, Amazon and Apple reinforce confidence in the AI investment theme, which could provide further support to technology-related counters, said Apex Securities in its market outlook.
There is the added political uncertainty on the domestic front as the Negeri Sembilan state election is slated to take place on Saturday.
"Overall, while the improved external backdrop should lend support to the local market, we expect investors to remain selective as they assess corporate earnings, macroeconomic developments and the upcoming state election," said Apex.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures for September delivery remained hovering below the US$90 a barrel level, with traders awaiting fresh developments amid a temporary pause in US strikes on iran.
