Kuala Lumpur:Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher on Friday but later eased due to mild profit-taking activities in selected heavyweight counters.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) decreased by 5.38 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,618.32 at 9.15 am, compared to Thursday's close of 1,623.70. The index initially opened 1.13 points higher at 1,624.83.
In the broader market, the number of advancers surpassed decliners with a tally of 300 to 136, while 281 counters remained unchanged, 2,126 were untraded, and 33 were suspended. The turnover reached 319.91 million units worth RM148.84 million.
Apex Securities indicated that local market sentiment might see some recovery due to Wall Street's overnight rebound. However, the ongoing shift away from US artificial intelligence-related technology stocks could continue to affect global risk appetite. The firm also noted that the local market's negative breadth on Thursday highlights fragile underlying risk appetite despite the benchmark index's relative resilience.
The firm added that large-cap defensive stocks are expected to support the KLCI, while broader market participation might remain muted as the weekend approaches. Investors are likely to prefer selective domestic and defensive positions due to subdued risk appetite.
Heavyweight stocks experienced mixed performances, with Maybank declining by six sen to RM10.02, CIMB dropping 10 sen to RM7.38, and Tenaga Nasional slipping two sen to RM12.96. In contrast, Public Bank remained unchanged at RM4.74, and IHH Healthcare fell three sen to RM7.95.
In active trading, ACE Market debutant EGH International decreased by three sen to 13 sen. Meanwhile, Land and General and Malayan United Industries remained steady at 18 sen and 4 sen, respectively. YB Ventures increased by one sen to 6.5 sen, and VS Industry rose by half a sen to 33.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Vitrox and Malayan Pacific each gained 18 sen, reaching RM10.50 and RM40.58, respectively. MN Holdings saw a 14 sen increase to RM3.80, while Westports and Petronas Dagangan each rose by 12 sen to RM6.85 and RM19.32.
Conversely, Dutch Lady Milk dropped 24 sen to RM29.04, Petronas Gas decreased by 20 sen to RM17.40, and both CIMB and United Plantations fell by 10 sen to RM7.38 and RM30.50, respectively. Sarawak Oil Palms reduced by 13 sen to RM5.10.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell by 16.30 points to 12,057.22, while the FBM Top 100 Index declined by 20.81 points to 11,855.05. In contrast, the FBM Mid 70 Index gained 47.55 points to 17,287.29, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid by 1.14 points to 12,001.40, and the FBM ACE Index increased by 48.98 points to 5,359.88.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index decreased by 74.70 points to 18,751.94. The Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.14 points to 177.06, while the Plantation Index declined by 36.34 points to 8,807.53. The Energy Index slipped by 0.83 points to 823.70.