Market Review

MY: The local bourse closed higher, shrugging off ongoing supply concerns linked to tension in the Strait of Hormuz. Market breadth turned positive with 653 gainers outpacing 540 losers. Sector-wise, Energy outperformed, led by HENGYUAN and SLVEST, while Industrial Products lagged the most.

US: Wall Street rallied strongly overnight as the Dow (+0.7%), S&P 500 (+1.5%), and Nasdaq (+2.3%) surged to record highs, buoyed by mega-cap technology gains and cooling Treasury yields. Brent crude cooled to USD100/bbl while the US 10-year yield eased 4bps, boosting broad-based risk appetite across global financial markets.

The Day Ahead

US: Wall Street is expected to maintain its upward momentum following the technology sector’s record run, with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) crossing the landmark USD1trn valuation amid sustained optimism over AI infrastructure spending. Meta Platforms (META) also remains in focus following the strong early adoption of its Muse AI agent, which recently topped Apple’s US App Store free-app rankings. We expect high-beta tech leaders such as Nvidia (NVDA) and Broadcom (AVGO) could continue to benefit from the risk-on tone amid easing Treasury yields, which provides a more supportive backdrop for growth equities.

MY: Closer to home, the FBM KLCI is poised to trade on a firmer footing, taking cues from Wall Street’s rally. In the technology space, INARI and VITROX could attract interest alongside sustained global AI hardware demand. Meanwhile, power and utility plays remain supported by data centre expansion, led by YTLPOWR and PWRWELL, with the latter backed by yesterday’s record RM190.4m purchase order win for Johor data centre switchgear. Renewable energy names such as SLVEST, SAMAIDEN, and VERDANT could also remain in focus following further policy support for the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS), which enables corporate consumers to procure green electricity from renewable energy developers through open-grid access.