KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, extending last week’s downtrend and dampened by weak buying sentiment, especially on the external front.
At 9.03am, the key FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 9.31 points to 1,671.23 from Friday’s close of 1,680.54.
The index opened 5.87 points weaker at 1,674.67.
Losses in Tenaga dragged the composite index down by 3.232 points after falling 32 sen to RM13.38 with 140,400 shares changing hands.
On the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 141 to 54, with 127 counters unchanged, 1,547 untraded and 25 others suspended.
Volume stood at 138.49 million units valued at RM29.59 million.
Public Investment Bank Bhd said the FBM KLCI might open lower today after US stocks suffered further steep falls at the end of a turbulent week last Friday, dominated by uncertainty over the US-China trade dispute and mounting concerns about global growth.
Wall Street proved unable to hold its initial gains on Friday, as tech stocks sold off and early strength for the energy sector evaporated, with crude prices giving back some of their early gains after an agreement by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its partners to cut output.
“The mood was not helped by remarks from White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who said the US would push ahead and increase tariffs on Chinese imports, if Washington and Beijing cannot agree on a binding trade truce within a 90-day negotiating period.
“But European and Asian stock indices mostly ended firmer, albeit well off the day’s highs, as buyers stepped back in after some savage falls on Thursday,” the research house said in a note today.
Back home, among the heavyweights, Public Bank lost 10 sen to RM24.70, CIMB eased four sen to RM5.74, while both Maybank and Petronas Chemicals were flat at RM9.42 and RM9.20 respectively.
Among actives, Tatt Giap and Sapura Energy slipped half-a-sen each to one sen and 34.5 sen respectively, MYEG slid one sen to RM1.13, but Hubline was flat at four sen.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 82.35 points to 11,525.88, the FBM 70 gave up 105.44 points for 13,417.55 and the FBM Ace Index was 15.67 points lower at 4,668.72.
The FBM Emas Index fell 66.93 points to 11,530.67 and the FBMT 100 Index declined 69.65 points to 11,410.27.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index weakened 69.08 points at 6,766.03 and the Financial Services Index contracted 33.44 points to 17,401.59, and the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.14 of-a-point to 168.9. — Bernama
