Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said major Asian indices also trended positively as investors welcomed news that the US and China had agreed yesterday to extend their tariff truce by 90 days, avoiding steep duties that could have disrupted trade flows.
“The deal maintains existing US tariffs at 30% and Chinese tariffs at 10%, providing additional time for negotiations and lifting investor sentiment across the region,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, he said market sentiment was further boosted by optimism over easing geopolitical tensions, as US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska on Friday to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Back home, Thong said the benchmark index closed at 1,567.90, edging above the key 1,565 resistance level, and a clear breakout above this threshold will set the stage for further gains.
“As such, our weekly FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) target remains at the 1,550-1,580 range,” he added.
Traders are also awaiting key US inflation data, which could signal the Federal Reserve’s next policy move.
The US consumer price index (CPI) report, due for release tonight, is expected to show an increase, with consensus estimates placing headline CPI at 2.8% and core CPI at 3% for July – up from 2.7% and 2.9%, respectively, in June.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI rose 4.66 points, or 0.3%, to close at 1,567.90 from yesterday’s close of 1,563.24.
The benchmark index opened 1.41 points lower at 1,561.83, marking its day’s low, and subsequently hit a high of 1,572.97 in early trade.
The broader market was positive, with advancers leading decliners 513 to 477, while 507 counters were unchanged, 1,024 untraded and eight suspended.
Turnover edged down to 2.53 billion units worth RM2.15 billion from 2.54 billion units worth RM2.2 billion yesterday.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added six sen to RM9.71, CIMB perked up seven sen to RM7.01, while Tenaga Nasional eased eight sen to RM13.58, IHH Healthcare slipped 14 sen to RM6.82, and Public Bank was flat at RM4.40.
Of the most active counters, Classita rose 0.5 sen to 9.5 sen, NexG gained 2.5 sen to 40 sen, while Zetrix AI decreased 1.5 sen to 88 sen, Tanco trimmed two sen to 72.5 sen, and TWL was flat at 2.5 sen.
Across the broader market, the FBM Emas Index increased 28.37 points to 11,675.50, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 26.46 points to 11,456.18, the FBM Emas Shariah Index edged up 17.71 points to 11,665.38, the FBM ACE Index climbed 17.92 points to 4,638.14, and the FBM 70 Index rose five points to 16,600.64.
By sector, the financial services index increased 86.82 points to 17,814.65, the industrial products and services index added 1.28 points to 160.06, the plantation index surged 67.73 points to 7,531.81, and the energy index put on 3.02 points to 738.38.
The Main Market volume improved to 1.56 billion units valued at RM1.95 billion from yesterday’s 1.52 billion units valued at RM2.01 billion.
Warrants turnover declined to 707.18 million units worth RM92.44 million from 732.96 million units worth RM90.85 million previously.
The ACE Market volume decreased to 251.24 million units worth RM106.41 million from 279.82 million units worth RM90.63 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 432.48 million shares traded on the Main Market; industrial products and services (187.12 million), construction (88.88 million), technology (270.13 million), financial services (78.73 million), property (206.67 million), plantation (14.81 million), REITs (21.93 million), closed-end fund (5,500), energy (96.5 million), healthcare (81.98 million), telecommunications and media (25.96 million), transportation and logistics (21.36 million), utilities (36.66 million), and business trusts (184,600).