Kuala Lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Thursday, reflecting a weaker performance from Wall Street overnight. At 9.03 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell by 4.99 points, or 0.32 percent, to 1,539.81, down from Wednesday’s close of 1,544.80.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the benchmark index had started the day 3.34 points lower at 1,541.46. In the broader market, there were 280 decliners and 52 gainers, with 199 counters unchanged, 1,887 untraded, and seven suspended. The turnover was recorded at 116.88 million shares valued at RM52.17 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd stated that the local sentiment is anticipated to trade negatively, mirroring Wall Street’s performance. However, they indicated that trading opportunities might emerge in gold-related stocks due to the recent surge in gold prices amid global economic uncertainties. Despite the US-China tariff pause, concerns are rising following the US warning that Huawei’s Ascend chips could breach export controls, which might limit gains for technology stocks. Nevertheless, Malacca Securities expressed optimism about domestic-driven construction stocks.
Among the heavyweights, CelcomDigi, Hong Leong Bank, and Press Metal remained flat at RM3.90, RM20, and RM5.05, respectively. Meanwhile, Maybank dropped 4.0 sen to RM9.96, Public Bank decreased by 6.0 sen to RM4.37, TNB slipped 2.0 sen to RM4.08, and CIMB fell by 1.0 sen to RM6.99.
In active trading, Velesto, TA Win, and SFP Tech remained unchanged at 16.5 sen, 2.0 sen, and 22 sen, respectively. Harvest Capital and Alam Maritim lost half-a-sen each to 18 sen and 3.0 sen. Perdana Petroleum decreased by 1.5 sen to 16.5 sen, JCY International fell by 2.0 sen to 33.5 sen, and Sarawak Cable dropped half-a-sen to 2.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased by 50.22 points to 11,475.46, the FBMT 100 Index fell by 46.94 points to 11,235.83, and the FBM ACE Index declined by 14.68 points to 4,611.37. The FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 46.51 points to 11,399.14, and the FBM 70 Index was down by 109.62 points to 16,236.28. Across sectors, the Financial Services Index shed 77.94 points to 18,137.93, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down by 0.60 points to 154.45, the Energy Index decreased by 6.35 points to 706.61, while the Plantation Index gained 10.24 points to 7,340.02.