UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors' Mohd Sedek said robust buying support on Wall Street is expected to spill over to local stocks, especially small-cap companies.
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index rebounded on late buying to finish higher after falling into negative territory at mid-day amid dampened sentiment in the regional markets stemming from weaker United States consumer confidence data.
The FBM KLCI rose 3.01 points, or 0.18%, to settle at 1,673.38 compared with Tuesday’s close of 1,670.37.
The FBM KLCI, which opened 3.69 points higher at 1,674.06, moved between 1,665.19 and 1,675.73 throughout the day.
However, market breadth was negative at the close, with decliners outnumbering gainers by 790 to 397, while 473 counters were unchanged, 857 untraded and 18 suspended.
Turnover increased to 3.59 billion units worth RM3.29bil from Tuesday’s 3.51 billion units worth RM3.10bil.
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said investors expressed concern over a sharp decline in the US Consumer Confidence Index, which unexpectedly dropped to 98.7 in September 2024 from a revised 105.6 in the preceding month.
This decline marked the largest fall since August 2021 and prompted a more defensive stance from investors, as worries grew about the potential for another Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut in November 2024, he told Bernama.
However, Wall Street continued to achieve record highs, even with lingering concerns about a potential economic slowdown following last week’s larger-than-expected rate cut by the Fed.
“Investors are now focused on upcoming US economic indicators, including new home sales and weekly jobless claims, to gain further insights into the health of the economy.
“The momentum from Wall Street, combined with sustained foreign fund inflows driven by expectations of further rate cuts, should provide support for the local market,” he said.
According to Mohd Sedek, robust buying support on Wall Street is expected to spill over to local stocks, especially small-cap companies.
Among Bursa Malaysia heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd
fell four sen to RM10.70 and Public Bank Bhd dropped five sen to RM4.63.
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd eased one sen to RM8.28 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd slid two sen to RM15.02, while IHH Healthcare Bhd gained three sen to RM7.14.
As for the active counters, Top Glove Corp Bhd weakened 10 sen to 99 sen, VS Industry Bhd six sen to RM1.05, Globetronics Technology Bhd garnered 2.5 sen to 73.5 sen, 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd inched up three sen to RM2.19 and MyEG Services Bhd was flat at 90 sen.
