Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened on a positive note but quickly reversed, with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declining due to profit-taking activities. The index fell 3.26 points to 1,578.33 from a previous close of 1,581.59, despite initial gains.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the market breadth turned negative with 176 decliners outnumbering 164 advancers. An additional 264 counters remained unchanged, while 2,035 were untraded and 69 suspended. The trading turnover reached 167.99 million shares valued at RM120.82 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd’s vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, commented on the situation, noting that Wall Street had closed on a stronger note despite the removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook by US President Donald Trump. Investors were focusing on upcoming earnings reports from Nvidia and a slight increase in the US 10-year yield to 4.26 percent.
Thong added that the FBM KLCI faced significant selling pressure, resulting in its decline just above the 1,580 mark. The sell-off was accompanied by a surge in daily trading volume, exceeding four billion. However, a quick rebound might occur, with expectations that the index will remain between 1,580 and 1,590.
Among the heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional increased by 6.0 sen to RM13.50, while Maybank decreased by 2.0 sen to RM9.73. Public Bank fell by 6.0 sen to RM4.36, CIMB Group dropped by 1.0 sen to RM7.39, and IHH Healthcare remained steady at RM6.77.
For actively traded stocks, Magma Group rose by 3.5 sen to 34 sen, Vetece Holdings gained 2.0 sen to 32 sen, and Tanco Holdings added 1.0 sen to 73 sen. Pharmaniaga and Avangaad saw minor increases, rising half-a-sen each to 17.5 sen and 30.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM 70 Index advanced by 33.33 points to 16,486.50, the FBM ACE Index increased by 10.79 points to 4,762.44, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index edged up by 3.88 points to 11,681.16. Conversely, the FBM Emas Index fell by 9.44 points to 11,724.83, and the FBMT 100 Index declined by 12.25 points to 11,493.97.
In terms of sectoral performance, the Energy Index rose by 1.28 points to 748.48, while the Financial Services Index fell by 52.80 points to 18,036.69. The Industrial Products and Services Index slipped by 1.07 points to 162.55, and the Plantation Index eased by 3.73 points to 7,570.40.