Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened on a positive note on Monday, influenced by stronger regional markets. However, the early gains were curtailed as profit-taking activities emerged, particularly affecting select heavyweight stocks, according to analysts.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, at 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) recorded a slight decline of 1.34 points, settling at 1,633.72, compared to Friday’s close of 1,635.06. The index had opened higher by 1.08 points at 1,636.14. Despite the dip, market breadth was positive, with 200 counters advancing and 177 declining. Additionally, 367 counters remained unchanged, 1,820 were untraded, and seven were suspended. The market turnover reached 258.73 million units, valued at RM104.81 million.
The local bourse initially mirrored the gains seen in regional markets, with Singapore’s Straits Times Index increasing by 0.09 per cent to 4,415.82, South Korea’s Kospi rising by 2.70 per cent, and Japan’s Nikkei climbing 4.21 per cent to 47,697.07. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index remained unchanged at 27,140.92. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd’s vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, noted that Wall Street appeared unperturbed by the ongoing US government shutdown, as major indices reached record highs before facing profit-taking. Thong mentioned concerns regarding the US economic and labour market conditions, with the US 10-year yield slightly increasing to 4.121 per cent.
Thong also expressed optimism regarding the local trading environment, predicting healthy activity driven by improving daily volumes. The anticipated return of foreign funds is expected to act as a catalyst, with the index projected to trend within the 1,635-1,650 range for the day.
Among heavyweight stocks, Tenaga Nasional saw an increase of four sen to RM13.32, while Maybank and Public Bank remained unchanged at RM10 and RM4.34, respectively. In contrast, CIMB dropped four sen to RM7.64, and IHH Healthcare decreased by one sen to RM8.12. In active trading, KNM Group fell 2.5 sen to RM0.50, while NexG gained one sen to RM0.53. NexG Bina, Erdasan Group, and Sarawak Consolidated also saw minor changes in their stock prices.
The top gainers included KESM Industries, which rose by eight sen to RM3.94, and KJTS Group, which increased by seven sen to RM1.79. On the other hand, the top losers were Malaysian Pacific Industries and Ayer Holdings, each declining by eight sen, and SAM Engineering and Kein Hing International, which saw decreases of seven sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined by 6.83 points to 12,174.84, and the FBM 100 Index eased by 9.89 points to 11,899.07. However, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose by 1.71 points. The FBM 70 Index and the Financial Services Index experienced decreases, while the Energy and Plantation Indices showed gains.