Bursa malaysia: Bursa Malaysia opened higher, bucking the regional trend, supported by positive local sentiment following news that the Large Scale Solar 6 (LSS6) tender is set to open later this year. Analysts said the positive sentiment surrounding the LSS6 tender is expected to support renewable energy and solar-related counters, particularly those involved in solar engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning and project development.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, at 9.10 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 6.80 points, or 0.40 percent, to 1,679.54 from Wednesday's close of 1,672.74. The index opened 1.75 points higher at 1,674.49. Despite the index's rise, market breadth was negative as losers outnumbered gainers 246 to 164, while 326 counters were unchanged, 1,922 were untraded, and 12 were suspended. Turnover stood at 171.82 million shares worth RM103.66 million.
Regionally, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.97 percent to 25,384.81, Singapore's Straits Times Index went down 0.82 percent to 5,096.17, Japan's Nikkei 225 was 1.73 percent lower to 67,216.27, and Korea's KOSPI Composite Index slipped by 1.72 percent to 8,629.08. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee Shen Pin noted that traders have turned cautious as tensions between the US and Iran have escalated, with no clear resolution in sight. On the global front, he mentioned that Wall Street closed sharply lower as the tension in West Asia escalated with the latest strikes on Kuwait International Airport by Iran. Back home, he noted that the local bourse is anticipated to hover between 1,670 and 1,685 today.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank rose eight sen to RM10.50, Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional increased two sen each to RM4.76 and RM14.10, CIMB jumped five sen to RM7.25, but IHH fell four sen to RM8.72. Of the active stocks, VS Industry inched down half-a-sen to 21.5 sen, Bus Cap gained 1.5 sen to 33 sen, GIIB went up half-a-sen to 45 sen, and Guan Chong bagged two sen to RM1.07. Velesto was flat at 30.5 sen.
Top gainers included Ajinomoto, which rose 26 sen to RM14.50, Ayer Holdings improved 16 sen to RM7.36, SD Guthrie rose 13 sen to RM5.97, Samchem added 10 sen to 53 sen, and KL Kepong advanced eight sen to RM19.58. Among the top losers were Malaysian Pacific Industries, which dropped 28 sen to RM48.62, Hong Leong Industries, which went down 22 sen to RM18.44, Allianz, which decreased 12 sen to RM20.98, Malayan Cement and MI Technovation, which were seven sen lower at RM6.87 and RM4.99, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 33.64 points to 12,546.32, while the FBM Top 100 Index increased 34.96 points to 12,382.46, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 7.44 points to 12,588.82. The FBM Mid 70 Index declined 12.37 points to 18,393.85, and the FBM ACE Index edged down 8.99 points to 4,716.67. By sector, the Financial Services Index rose 120.78 points to 19,441.81, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.52 of a point to 200.27, the Energy Index inched up 0.1 of a point to 788.11, and the Plantation Index widened 65.09 points to 8,515.52.