Bursa Malaysia rises on Wall Street rally, YTL shares surge
Malaysian equities rose at the open on Thursday as the FBM KLCI gained 4.05 points, or 0.23%, to 1,735.37 by 9:05am, tracking overnight strength in US markets after the Treasury announced plans to buy back long-term debt to bolster liquidity.
Source: thestar.com.my · KLSE Screener · The Star · August 20, 2026 at 2:00 AM · AI-assisted report
Single-sourceKUALA LUMPUR, 20 AUGUST 2026 —
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Malaysian equities rose at the open on Thursday as the FBM KLCI gained 4.05 points, or 0.23%, to 1,735.37 by 9:05am, tracking overnight strength in US markets after the Treasury announced plans to buy back long-term debt to bolster liquidity.
Market Impact
YTL Power Bhd led the advance with a 32-sen, or 6.5%, gain to RM5.20 after the utility said it had formed a joint venture with JLand Group to develop a gigawatt-scale data centre campus at Sedenak Tech Park West in Johor. YTL Corp Bhd added 18 sen, or 8.1%, to RM2.40.
Plantation and PETRONAS-linked stocks also attracted buying. SD Guthrie Bhd rose eight sen, or 1.2%, to RM6.62, IOI Corp Bhd gained three sen, or 0.7%, to RM4.58 and MISC Bhd advanced 11 sen, or 1.8%, to RM6.17. PETRONAS Chemicals Group Bhd fell eight sen, or 1.7%, to RM4.61 after a modest rebound the prior session following its quarterly earnings release.
Turnover leaders included CBH Engineering Bhd, which jumped eight sen, or 10.1%, to 87 sen after securing a RM246 million contract for a data centre in Johor.
The gains came despite Brent crude futures for October delivery rising to US$92 per barrel, a four-week high, after US President Donald Trump said Washington would not reopen talks with Iran. US Treasury yields fell overnight after the Federal Reserve released minutes of its latest policy meeting showing growing concern over inflation among committee members even as the central bank held its benchmark rate steady.
The Federal Open Market Committee minutes indicated three policymakers favoured a 25-basis-point rate hike at the meeting, while a larger group warned that further tightening would be required if inflation did not ease.
Related: IOI · Bursa Malaysia · Kuala Lumpur