KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, extending the profit-taking trend from the previous session, signalling that the recent upcycle may be losing momentum rather than reversing outright. 

At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 8.33 points to 1,704.00 from yesterday’s close of 1,712.33, after opening 1.31 points lower at 1,711.02.

Market breadth was negative, with decliners outnumbering gainers 235 to 103. A total of 311 counters were unchanged, while 2,018 were untraded and 10 were suspended.

Turnover stood at 144.34 million shares valued at RM83.19. million.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the softer opening reflects a more measured risk posture among investors following the strong early-year rally, with near-term positioning increasingly skewed towards consolidation.

“The absence of overnight direction from the US, as markets were closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day, has further reduced conviction at the opening,” he told Bernama.

Domestically, he opined that investors appear to be rotating into more defensive and earnings-resilient names while trimming exposure to stocks that have seen sharp valuation re-rating.

“In our view, the current pullback remains technically healthy, serving to recalibrate expectations and set the stage for more sustainable participation should macro and earnings fundamentals remain supportive,” he added.

Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank was down two sen to RM11.14, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare  declined three sen each to RM4.77 and RM8.38, CIMB notched down six sen to RM8.31, and Tenaga Nasional trimmed 10 sen to RM13.72.

On the most active list, IJM Corp gave up nine sen to RM2.56, TWL Holdings was unchanged at 2.5 sen, while SBS Nexus gained half-a-sen to 25.5 sen, SMRT Holdings and Capital A widened one sen each to 19.5 sen and 51.5 sen.

Top gainers included Nestle which bagged 50 sen to RM116.50, Allianz Malaysia advanced 10 sen to RM21.78, Tex Cycle Technology strengthened five sen to RM1.24, and Time Dotcom firmed four sen to RM5.59.

Leading decliners were Fraser & Neave Holdings, down 34 sen to RM35.66, Hong Leong Bank dipped 28 sen to RM24.02, Telekom Malaysia eased nine sen to RM7.61, Press Metal Aluminium decreased seven sen to RM7.21 and AMMB Holdings tumbled six sen to RM6.45.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index trimmed 55.52 points to 12,556.02, the FBM Top 100 Index shaved 58.03 points to 12,348.81, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 48.87 points to 12,191.82, the FBM Mid 70 Index stepped back 71.70 points to 17,451.05, and the FBM ACE Index tumbled 7.79 points to 4,927.28.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index reduced 107.96 points to 20,707.18, the Energy Index inched down 1.72 points to 775.41, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.86 of-a-point to 173.92, and the Plantation Index ticked down 15.79 points to 8,335.64. — Bernama