Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Thursday but saw a reduction in gains shortly thereafter, following a positive performance on Wall Street the previous night. Investors are expected to experience fluctuating sentiment in the near term.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, at 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 0.51 of a point to 1,716.17 from the previous close of 1,716.68. The key index had initially opened 2.78 points higher at 1,719.46. The market showed a negative breadth, with 187 counters losing against 106 gaining. Additionally, 260 counters remained unchanged, 2,205 were untraded, and 76 were suspended. The turnover recorded was 154.26 million shares valued at RM124.57 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, mentioned that Wall Street's rise was amidst a decline in crude oil prices due to Iran receiving a 15-point proposal from the US to end the ongoing conflict. He expressed belief in potential bargain hunting within the current range and anticipated the index to fluctuate between 1,710 and 1,720 during the day.
In the heavyweight category, Maybank gained four sen to reach RM11.48, whereas Public Bank decreased by two sen to RM4.91. CIMB experienced a slight rise of one sen to RM7.90, while Tenaga Nasional remained unchanged at RM14.42, and IHH Healthcare dropped by five sen to RM8.94.
In the list of most active stocks, Sunway Healthcare increased by 10 sen to RM2.22, Astro remained flat at eight sen, TWL decreased by half a sen to two sen, Handal Energy increased by half a sen to 3.5 sen, and Zetrix AI fell by two sen to 73 sen.
Among the top gainers, Allianz rose by 36 sen to RM21.06, Petronas Chemicals increased by 22 sen to RM5.68, Petronas Dagangan added 12 sen to RM21.72, and Hong Leong Financial climbed 10 sen to RM19.66. Conversely, key losers included Nestle, which decreased by 36 sen to RM97.64, United Plantations dropping 20 sen to RM33.40, Malaysian Pacific losing 12 sen to RM28.78, and Carmin Petroleum falling 10 sen to 34 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index saw a decrease of 9.93 points to 12,326.0, the FBM Emas Index weakened by 12.28 points to 12,462.56, and the FBM ACE Index declined by 10.35 points to 4,359.95. The FBM 70 Index fell by 40.90 points to 16,922.86, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index contracted by 13.76 points to 12,180.73.
In sectoral movements, the Financial Services Index rose by 20.50 points to 20,590.12, while the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up by 1.03 points to 181.15. The Plantation Index decreased by 9.93 points to 8,569.52, and the Energy Index lost 0.91 of a point to 784.45.