Window-dressing, bargain-hunting to bolster Bursa rally

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KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia stands to gain from window-dressing activities as funds look to end the first half of the year on a more positive note, while an optimistic development in US banks could also boost investor confidence.

Overnight, all 23 of the US banks included in the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test showed they were able to maintain minimum capital levels in a severe recession scenario.

The resilience of the lenders sent the Dow Jones up 0.8% and the S&P500 rising 0.45% while the Nasdaq was little changed.

Following the gains in the previous session on Wednesday, Malacca Securities Research said the local bourse could be poised for further rebound.

“However, gains may be capped as investors cautiously monitor the upcoming personal consumer expenditures price index in the US to gauge the aggressiveness of next interest rate hike by the US Fed,” it said in a note.

At the opening bell, Malaysia’s benchmark FBM KLCI was up 0.93 points to 1,387.67.

Banks remained mixed with Maybank up one sen to RM8.74, Public Bank gaining two sen to RM3.89 but CIMB shedding four sen to RM5.11 and Hong Leong Bank losing six sen to RM18.84.

Tenaga Nasional gained four sen to RM9.05 and Maxis rose six sen to RM4.15.

Among top actives, TWL was down 0.5 sen to three senn, SCIB rose one sen to 46 sen and M&A gained one sen to 27 sen.

– The Star


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