KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's stock market is expected to end the week on a defensive note after Wall Street's overnight decline amid a resurgence in bond yields and concerns over borrowing costs.
Apex Securities said the FBM KLCI is expected to trade with a cautiously positive bias, supported by Malaysia’s resilient domestic fundamentals but tempered by elevated global bond yields and geopolitical risks.
"Higher crude oil prices could provide some support to oil and gas-related counters although a prolonged rise in energy prices would eventually increase input costs and inflationary pressures," it said in its market outlook.
The domestic market's key index showed indecision in the opening minutes of trading, little unchanged from the previous day's close at 1,735.76.
There was strong buying interest in YTL Power, rising nine sen to RM5.25, and parent company YTL, gaining two sen to RM2.45. Both stocks were among the most traded counters on Bursa Malaysia.
There were also big price moves from Telekom Malaysia, dropping 24 sen to RM7.86, and Kuala Lumpur Kepong, climbing 22 sen to RM21.66.
PETRONAS Gas rose 12 sen to RM17.60 and MISC gained seven sen to RM8.16.
Brent crude futures for October delivery topped US$93 a barrel overnight as the US said it would soon announce a plan to cripple Iran by isolating it from its trading partners.
