Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Monday, continuing last week's downward trend in alignment with a softer regional market, as noted by an analyst.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, at 9.15 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) decreased by 1.11 points, or 0.06 percent, to 1,685.63 from the previous Friday's closing of 1,686.74. The index began the trading day 0.09 of a point lower at 1,686.65.
Market activity was muted, with 322 counters registering losses against 200 gainers. Meanwhile, 338 counters remained unchanged, 1,980 were untraded, and 26 were suspended. The turnover was reported at 328.99 million shares valued at RM160.49 million.
MBSB Investment Bank Bhd highlighted that foreign investors continued as net sellers for the fourth week across eight Asian markets, accumulating net foreign outflows of US$4.52 billion. Thailand was the only market to record net foreign inflows, whereas net outflows were primarily observed in South Korea, followed by Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines, as mentioned in the investment bank's note today.
In the heavyweight category, Public Bank and CIMB slipped a sen each to RM4.79 and RM7.78, respectively. Conversely, Maybank rose by four sen to RM10.42, IHH Healthcare gained 10 sen to RM7.75, while Tenaga Nasional remained unchanged at RM13.60.
Among the actively traded stocks, Zetrix AI and Luster Industries held steady at 25 sen and 35 sen, respectively. United Asiapac Energy decreased by one sen to 34 sen, AHB added half a sen to six sen, and Top Glove increased by 1.5 sen to 81.5 sen.
Nestle led the gainers, rising by 94 sen to RM92.94. Hong Leong Bank gained 18 sen to RM23.26, Naim recovered by 14 sen to 83.5 sen, Citaglobal edged up by 12 sen to RM1.18, and Petronas Chemicals increased by 11 sen to RM5.20.
Among the top losers were Malaysian Pacific Industries, which fell 46 sen to RM40.24, UMS Integration dropped 26 sen to RM8.04, Chin Teck Plantations decreased by 14 sen to RM10.26, while United Plantations and Sunway Construction fell 10 sen each to RM33 and RM7.30, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index lost 24.35 points to 17,704.29, while the FBM ACE Index fell 29.55 points to 5,230.68. The FBM Emas Index slid 8.64 points to 12,501.56, the FBM Top 100 Index erased 10.30 points to 12,295.34, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 3.77 points to 12,393.04.
In terms of sectors, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up by 0.21 of a point to 188.99, and the Energy Index gained 3.18 points to 817.61. However, the Financial Services Index slid by 4.89 points to 19,617.32, and the Plantation Index decreased by 33.43 points to 9,402.58.