KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — The bellwether FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) opened lower today, as oil prices contracted and continued to dampen risk sentiment, while concerns about the global economy also dogged investors.
At 9.08 am, the FBM KLCI fell 6.77 points to 1,717.52 from Thursday's close of 1,724.29. It had opened 5.85 points lower at 1,718.44.
Losers led gainers 139 to 100, with 159 counters unchanged, 1,712 untraded and 11 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 98.95 million shares worth RM52.02 million.
Brent futures were down 85 cents or 2.1 per cent to US$38.99 per barrel while US crude futures slipped by 75 cents or two per cent to US$37 per barrel.
"Oil prices finished lower following higher weekly inventories at the US crude storage base despite a pipeline outage," said a dealer.
Among heavyweights, Maybank fell five sen to RM9.07, TNB gained two sen to RM14.44, Public Bank decreased four sen to RM19.32 while IHH Healthcare and Petronas Chemicals were unchanged at RM6.68 and RM6.70 respectively.
Of the top losers, Hong Leong Financial declined 24 sen to RM14.96, Petronas Dagangan lost 20 sen to RM23.66, Sin Heng reduced 15 sen to 45 sen while LPI and Bintulu Port each dropped 10 sen to RM15.48 and RM6.70 respectively.
Among top gainers, PPB Group gained 14 sen to RM16.50, Triplc edged up seven sen to RM1.40 while Top Glove and Emas Kiara each rose six sen to RM5.32 and RM1.32 respectively.
The FBM Emas Index decreased 35.48 points to 11,943.09, the FBMT100 Index reduced 38.67 points to 11,634.91 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 29.21 points lower at 12,525.50.
The FBM Ace bagged 51.96 points for 5,697.94 and the FBM 70 fell 18.62 points to 13,304.60.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index declined 18.31 points to 7,797.73, the Finance Index lost 45.40 points for 14,862.14, and the Industrial Index skidded 8.01 points to 3,262.58. — Bernama
