BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS SHARPLY HIGHER, TRACKING WALL STREET RALLY AFTER US TARIFF PAUSE

By Anas Abu Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded sharply at the open on Thursday, tracking Wall Street’s overnight rally after US President Donald Trump announced a pause in tariffs, an analyst said.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 53.29 points, or 3.81 per cent, to 1,453.88 from Wednesday’s close of 1,400.59.

The benchmark index opened 63.71 points higher at 1,464.30.

Market breadth was firmly positive, with gainers overwhelming decliners 743 to 54. A total of 180 counters were unchanged, 1,389 untraded and 10 suspended.

Turnover stood at 681.78 million shares, valued at RM481.06 million.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 7.87 per cent to 40,608.45. The S&P 500 climbed 9.52 per cent to 5,456.90, while the Nasdaq Composite soared 12.16 per cent to 17,124.97.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said US equities staged their biggest rally after Trump announced a 90-day tariff pause and reduced reciprocal tariffs to a baseline 10 per cent—except for China, where the rate was raised to 125 per cent.

Even so, he noted that sentiment remained cautious due to lingering uncertainty over China’s position in the ongoing trade dispute.

On the domestic front, Thong said he expects a swift rebound in the local market as investors digest cues from Wall Street’s strong overnight performance.

“Nonetheless, we advocate vigilance, as the tariff landscape remains fluid amid Trump’s flip-flopping policy,” he said, adding that the benchmark index is likely to hover between 1,400 and 1,450 today.

Among heavyweights, Maybank jumped 41 sen to RM9.91, Public Bank rose 14 sen to RM4.23, Tenaga Nasional climbed 38 sen to RM13.20, CIMB added 37 sen to RM6.72 and IHH Healthcare gained 10 sen to RM6.81.

In active trade, Sapura Energy slipped half-a-sen to four sen, SumiSaujana edged up half-a-sen to 18.5 sen, MYEG rose 5.5 sen to 81 sen, Velocity Capital increased two sen to nine sen and Nationgate advanced 18 sen to RM1.20.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index climbed 441.80 points to 10,785.00, the FBMT 100 Index added 424.84 points to 10,573.68, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 432.66 points to 10,573.68.

The FBM 70 Index surged 757.21 points to 15,139.58, while the FBM ACE Index rose 183.61 points to 4,329.87.

Across sectors, the Financial Services Index jumped 705.07 points to 17,609.89, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 6.65 points to 138.69, the Energy Index strengthened 37.97 points to 650.56, and the Plantation Index added 243.87 points to 7,082.96.

-- BERNAMA