Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Wednesday, with trading activities remaining subdued as the benchmark index fell below the 1,670 level. At 9.07 am, the FBM KLCI decreased by 3.06 points, or 0.18%, to 1,669.29, following Tuesday's closing at 1,672.35. The index began the day slightly lower by 0.88 of-a-point at 1,671.47.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, on the broader market, gainers outpaced losers with 172 counters rising against 144 declining, while 274 remained unchanged, 2,059 were not traded, and 10 were suspended. The turnover reached 121.35 million shares, amounting to RM71.53 million in value.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, anticipates the index to fluctuate within the 1,670-1,680 range today, following a mild correction of the FBM KLCI after a significant rise over the past month. Thong views this as a positive development, anticipating the local market to continue its upward trend shortly.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank increased by two sen to RM10.72, SD Guthrie rose by three sen to RM5.65, and Sunway added one sen to RM5.63. Public Bank and Hong Leong Bank remained steady at RM4.52 and RM22.74, respectively. Conversely, CIMB, TNB, and IHH Healthcare each decreased by four sen to RM7.95, RM13.54, and RM8.61, respectively.
In the most active stocks, Pharmaniaga and Alam Maritim both increased by half-a-sen to 28 sen and 13 sen, respectively. Dufu Technology surged by 11 sen to RM1.86, JCY International rose by two sen to 37.5 sen, Notion Vtec advanced by 5.5 sen to 62 sen, and Capital A decreased by one sen to 43.5 sen.
Top gainers included Far East Holdings, which surged by 20 sen to RM4.40, IGB which jumped by 15 sen to RM3.20, and Hong Leong Industries, appreciating by 14 sen to RM16.42. Sarawak Oil and Vitrox both increased by six sen to RM3.84 and RM4.24, respectively.
Meanwhile, top decliners featured Nestle, with a reduction of RM1.30 to RM119, while United Plantations improved by 16 sen to RM30.32. PPB decreased by 10 sen to RM10.56, and Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell by eight sen to RM19.70.
In market indices, the FBM Emas Index fell by 16.19 points to 12,311.63, the FBM Top 100 Index dipped by 18.42 points to 12,101.21, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index narrowed by 14.26 points to 12,115.33. The FBM Mid 70 Index decreased by 9.16 points to 17,119.02, whereas the FBM ACE Index rose by 6.82 points to 4,957.72.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slid by 22.62 points to 19,748.0, the Energy Index edged up by 1.13 points to 768.41, the Industrial Products and Services Index grew by 0.09 of-a-point to 172.64, and the Plantation Index strengthened by 13.89 points to 8,305.0.