Bursa Malaysia Opens Mixed Amid Wall Street Gains, Geopolitical Concerns
KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened mixed on Friday as gains on Wall Street, driven by robust US corporate earnings and a rally in chip stocks, were tempered by lingering geopolitical concerns.
At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 2.04 points to 1,718.36 from Thursday's close of 1,720.40.
The benchmark index opened 0.83 of a point higher at 1,721.23.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 295 to 114, while 269 counters were unchanged, 2,063 untraded and 56 suspended.
Turnover stood at 186.81 million shares worth RM135.97 million.
Meanwhile, media reports said the conflict between the United States and Iran had widened after a drone strike targeted gas vessels at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta, marking the first such incident involving Egypt.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said strong quarterly results from Microsoft and Amazon underscored accelerating revenue growth in their cloud businesses, reinforcing confidence in enterprise spending on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
"Amazon's planned capital expenditure of US$220 billion for 2026 will be driven largely by AI infrastructure, data centres and custom chips.
"With growth confidence restored, upside momentum in the coming session will centre on Microsoft and Amazon as the key catalysts for broader market gains," it said in a note today.
On the domestic front, the brokerage expects the local bourse to stage a technology-led rally, supported by Wall Street's overnight gains and strong corporate earnings.
"Sentiment towards local technology stocks will be anchored by ViTrox Corporation Bhd, whose net profit for the second quarter of FY2026 more than tripled year-on-year to RM85 million from RM28.1 million, driven by surging AI demand, operational efficiency and tax benefits," it said.
Malacca Securities also expects spillover buying interest in other technology counters, including Inari Amertron Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd and Frontken Corporation Bhd.
Heavyweights saw Tenaga Nasional fall two sen to RM14.60, while CIMB and IHH Healthcare lost three sen each to RM7.80 and RM8.32, respectively. Public Bank eased one sen to RM5.15, while Maybank was unchanged at RM10.88.
Among active stocks, TWL Holdings, VS Industry and Jiankun International gained half a sen each to 2.5 sen, 22.5 sen and five sen, respectively. NationGate Holdings rose two sen to RM1.15, while MAG was unchanged at 16.5 sen.
Leading gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which climbed RM2.40 to RM45.40, ViTrox, up RM1.01 to RM9.01, Nestlé, which gained RM1.00 to RM100.50, UMS Integration, which added 37 sen to RM7.21, and UWC, which advanced 29 sen to RM6.45.
On the losers' list, Bursa Malaysia fell eight sen to RM8.62, SD Guthrie lost seven sen to RM6.53, Gas Malaysia dropped seven sen to RM5.16, MISC declined six sen to RM8.06, and Heng Yuan Refining eased five sen to RM1.43.
Among the broader indices, the FBM Emas Index gained 19.59 points to 12,713.92, the FBM Top 100 Index added 16.17 points to 12,547.48, and the FBM Mid 70 Index rose 155.88 points to 18,124.67.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 40.72 points to 12,571.21, while the FBM ACE Index climbed 37.87 points to 4,960.64.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.61 of a point to 187.61 and the Energy Index gained 1.56 points to 762.62, while the Financial Services Index fell 29.41 points to 20,224.40 and the Plantation Index slipped 25.86 points to 9,301.19.
-- BERNAMA