Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened the year on a lower note, tracking weaker cues from Wall Street amid cautious sentiment due to a lack of new catalysts. At 9.06 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 11.69 points, or 0.70 percent, to 1,668.42 from Wednesday's close of 1,680.11. The benchmark index had opened 4.91 points lower at 1,675.20.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries were closed yesterday in conjunction with the 2026 New Year's Day holiday. Market breadth was negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 165 to 75. A total of 237 counters were unchanged, 2,179 were untraded, and 18 were suspended. Turnover amounted to 64.99 million shares valued at RM35.60 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that Wall Street ended weaker on Wednesday on profit-taking activities towards the end of the year. On the domestic front, he observed that the FBM KLCI might still benefit from local institutions' buying support based on recent trends despite a net outflow of foreign investors from the local bourse. He added that the local bourse is poised for more upside as the rebalancing of foreign funds is still ongoing, with expectations for the index to hover within the 1,675-1,690 range.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank fell six sen to RM10.42, CIMB lost 15 sen to RM8.10, Public Bank eased seven sen to RM4.47, Tenaga Nasional dropped four sen to RM13.68, and IHH Healthcare slid 10 sen to RM8.65. On the most active list, TWL, Velesto, Reservoir Link, and Bina Puri were all unchanged, while Mega Fortis added half a sen.
In terms of top gainers, Dutch Lady rose 30 sen, United Plantations added six sen, CJ Century gained 3.5 sen, Hap Seng rose three sen, and BM Greentech gained two sen. Among top decliners, MPI fell 38 sen, SD Guthrie lost 10 sen, Atlan Holdings slipped eight sen, and Sime Darby fell seven sen.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index shed 63.43 points, the FBM Top 100 Index fell 70.32 points, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 41.36 points. The FBM Mid 70 Index dropped 34.86 points, and the FBM ACE Index was down 0.24 of-a-point.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slid 149.98 points, the Energy Index dipped 0.42 of-a-point, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.15 of-a-point, and the Plantation Index lost 35.31 points.