KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia experienced fluctuations during the early trading session, with the main index oscillating between gains and losses. At 9.09 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) showed a slight improvement of 0.58 points to reach 1,603.73, compared to the previous close of 1,603.15. The benchmark index initially opened lower, dropping by 1.81 points to 1,601.34.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, market breadth was positive as the number of advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones, with 176 advancers to 159 decliners. Meanwhile, 261 counters remained unchanged, 1,861 were not traded, and 44 were suspended. The turnover amounted to 173.46 million units, valued at RM118.13 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd’s equity research vice-president, Thong Pak Leng, anticipates the index will stay within the 1,600-1,610 range today, as market activity continues to be subdued, as evidenced by the tepid daily volume. Adding to the market sentiment, comments by US President-elect Donald Trump about impos
ing additional tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada are expected to raise concerns in the region.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd noted that export-oriented sectors such as gloves and technology might gain from the increasing trade tensions between the US and China, alongside a stronger US dollar. Additionally, the rebound in crude palm oil prices might enhance sentiment within the plantation sector.
In their analysis, Malacca Securities also highlighted that with the festive season approaching and stronger earnings anticipated from passenger and holiday traffic, stocks within the aviation, hospitality, and consumer sectors are appealing. Among the heavyweights, Maybank increased by two sen to RM10.24, CIMB gained five sen to RM8.40, while Public Bank, Tenaga Nasional, and CelcomDigi remained unchanged at RM4.43, RM14.04, and RM3.58, respectively.
Among the more active stocks, Genetec Technology increased by five sen to 92.5 sen, MBSB rose 2.5 sen to 75 sen, JCY International added two sen to 37.5 sen, Mestron
gained one sen to 31 sen, and Coraza climbed 7.5 sen to 42.5 sen. On the index board, the FBM Emas Index recovered by 11.54 points to 12,182.49, the FBMT 100 Index appreciated by 11.26 points to 11,887.63, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased by 5.34 points to 12,135.70, the FBM 70 Index rose by 42.71 points to 17,933.56, and the FBM ACE Index ticked up by 9.46 points to 5,148.71.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gathered 70.13 points to 19,269.69, while the Plantation Index rose by 0.49 points to 7,533.11. Conversely, the Industrial Products and Services Index lost 0.26 points to 172.06, and the Energy Index fell by 0.71 points to 820.42.