Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Monday, weighed by cautious investor sentiment and subdued buying interest, which offset stronger gains on Wall Street last Friday. At 9.16 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 1.60 points, or 0.09 percent, to 1,711.07 from Friday's close of 1,712.67. The benchmark index opened 1.24 points lower at 1,711.43.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, on the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 276 to 213, while 375 counters were unchanged, 1,834 untraded, and 59 suspended. Turnover stood at 368.76 million shares worth RM192.18 million. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended the previous session on a strong note, supported by stabilizing bond yields. He noted that the United States 10-year Treasury yield held steady at 4.558 percent.
Thong commented that the FBM KLCI previously closed above the 1,710 level, lifted by selective bargain-hunting after several days of correction. Despite decent corporate earnings, overall sentiment remains cautious. He expects the index to hover within the 1,700-1,720 range for the day.
In terms of individual stocks, among the heavyweights, Maybank rose two sen to RM11.02, Public Bank added one sen to RM4.78, while Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare remained flat. CIMB slipped one sen to RM7.74. For active stocks, Hong Seng Consolidated and Velesto Energy eased half-a-sen each, EI Power gained one sen, SFP Tech Holdings inched up two sen, and AirAsia X added five sen.
Top gainers included Petronas Dagangan, LPI Capital, MI Technovation, Petronas Gas, and Malayan Cement. Conversely, top losers were Malaysian Pacific Industries, Ajinomoto, Petronas Chemicals, ViTrox, and KLCC Property Holdings.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index, FBM Top 100 Index, FBM Emas Shariah Index, and FBM Mid 70 Index showed declines, while the FBM ACE Index edged up. By sector, the Financial Services Index showed a positive movement, whereas the Industrial Products and Services Index, Energy Index, and Plantation Index experienced declines.