Malaysia Morning Wrap | KLCI Rebounds in Tuesday's Late Session on Buying Interest; 99 Speed Mart Opens First Overseas Store in China

Stock market indices like the Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, and Dow-30 dropped on Tuesday, influenced by tariff concerns, higher Treasury yields, and other negative factors.

A U.S. appeals court ruled that President Trump exceeded his authority in imposing tariffs, creating uncertainty about future tariffs on foreign goods. However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that Trump could still use other federal laws to impose tariffs even if he loses the right to do so under the IEEPA.

Meanwhile, U.S. long-dated Treasury yields rose Tuesday, apparently in part on fears that Washington will have to borrow more money if it can't keep collecting import duties.

In July, U.S. construction spending fell 0.1%, aligning with economists' expectations but showing a 2.8% year-over-year decline. The Institute for Supply Management's Manufacturing Index rose to 48.7 in August from 48 in July, exceeding the 48.5 forecast but remaining below 50 for six months, signaling ongoing contraction in U.S. manufacturing.

Despite manufacturing data indicating economic contraction, Bursa Malaysia rebounded from last Friday's losses to close higher on Tuesday as late-session buying lifted key indices, ahead of the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday.

Malaysia's manufacturing activity remained in contraction in August but shrank at a softer pace than the previous month, S&P Global said in a report. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 49.9 in August from 49.7 in July, remaining below the 50 mark that separates contraction from expansion.

In the first three days, over 2.9 million Malaysians used RM100 Sara credits to spend RM192.4 million on basic necessities. On the third day, transactions worth RM75.3 million were made, up from RM50 million on the first day. The transaction success rate improved from 79% to 95%.

Malaysia's trade value hit a record RM1.73 trillion from January to July 2025, up 4.7% year-on-year. Exports were RM900.47 billion, imports RM830.16 billion, yielding a trade surplus of RM70.31 billion.