Earlier today, the White House announced a 19% tariff imposed on Malaysia, lower than the 25% announced on July 7.
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd’s head of investment research Sedek Jantan said the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed higher today, buoyed by renewed investor confidence following the White House’s announcement of a 19% tariff on Malaysian exports.
He said the decision places Malaysia on par with regional peers such as Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines, lower than Vietnam, Taiwan, and India, but higher than Japan.
“The announcement, released earlier today, brings an end to four months of speculation and uncertainty, giving both businesses and policymakers a clearer path forward for strategy execution,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said investors are cautiously awaiting US jobs data that could make or break the case for a US Federal Reserve interest rate cut next month.
“On the other hand, lower-than-expected economic data from China also weighed on sentiment after factory activity on the mainland unexpectedly contracted in July.
“As such, the local benchmark index is seen remaining in consolidation mode, hovering around the 1,530 level,” he said.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI surged 20.10 points or 1.33% to close at 1,533.35 from yesterday’s close of 1,513.25.
The benchmark index, which opened 6.62 points higher at 1,519.87, hit a low of 1,519.17 in early trade and reached a high of 1,534.48 in the afternoon session.
The broader market was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 570 to 452, while 521 counters were unchanged, 947 untraded and 11 suspended.
Turnover eased to 3.16 billion units worth RM2.23 billion from 3.77 billion units worth RM3.10 billion yesterday.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 21 sen to RM9.60, Public Bank gained 8 sen to RM4.29, Tenaga Nasional soared 28 sen to RM13.30, CIMB was 24 sen higher at RM6.79, while IHH Healthcare went up 3 sen to RM6.68.
Of the most active counters, Pegasus Heights and TWL were flat at 0.5 sen and 2.5 sen, respectively.
Pharmaniaga eased 0.5 sen to 17 sen, while Tanco inched up 0.5 sen to 84 sen, and Ekovest added 2 sen to 43.5 sen.
Besides Tenaga and CIMB, the other top gainers are Main Market debutant UMS Integration, which advanced 50 sen to RM5.50, Ajinomoto and Gamuda bagged 22 sen each to RM13.08 and RM5.40, respectively, and Allianz Malaysia rose 18 sen to RM17.60.
As for the top losers, Nestle dipped 34 sen to RM87.80 and both Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Mesiniaga erased 16 sen to RM19.42 and RM1.30, respectively.
Across the broader market, the FBM Emas Index soared 124.86 points to 11,525.33, the FBMT 100 Index increased 129.12 points to 11,285.63, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 79.09 points to 11,540.76.
The FBM 70 Index jumped 109.26 points to 16,713.87, and the FBM ACE Index climbed 6.16 points to 4,624.37.
By sector, the financial services index surged 327.50 points to 17,480.20, the energy index perked up 1.26 points to 749.60, the industrial products and services index was unchanged at 159.14, while the plantation index shed 24.07 points to 7,370.97.
The Main Market volume improved to 1.97 billion units valued at RM1.98 billion from 1.94 billion units valued at RM2.77 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover fell to 895.32 million units worth RM143.46 million from 1.43 billion units worth RM210.54 million previously.
The ACE Market volume tumbled to 289.60 million units worth RM108.93 million from 404.93 million units worth RM124.64 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 199.04 million shares traded on the Main Market; industrial products and services (287.73 million), construction (267.22 million), technology (251.30 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (62.51 million), property (491.17 million), plantation (25.68 million), REITs (14.50 million), closed-end fund (21,600), energy (125.07 million), healthcare (164.44 million), telecommunications and media (23.25 million), transportation and logistics (22.84 million), utilities (39.32 million), and business trusts (14,700).