KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 — Mild profit-taking nudged Bursa Malaysia lower at the open today, following its robust close a day earlier.
At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 2.64 points to 1,714.50 from yesterday’s close of 1,717.14, after opening 1.30 points lower at 1,715.84.
Market breadth was negative, with decliners outnumbering gainers 129 to 125. Some 281 counters were unchanged, 2,195 untraded, and 21 suspended.
Turnover totalled 105.66 million shares valued at RM75.33 million.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the benchmark index’s lower start reflected short-term profit-taking after Wednesday’s strong advance, as it approached near-term resistance levels.
“This early retracement appears driven more by positioning and gain-locking rather than any deterioration in underlying fundamentals, with investors taking a cautious pause after the recent run-up.
“Importantly, this aligns with our weekly outlook, which anticipated a modest, range-bound trading environment,” he told Bernama.
He noted that Friday-to-Friday data point to gradual market improvement, with the FBM KLCI closing at 1,712.74 last Friday, suggesting underlying momentum remains intact despite near-term volatility.
“As the session progresses, momentum is expected to rebuild through selective accumulation, supporting a balanced and stabilising trading pattern,” he added.
Among heavyweight stocks, Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare fell four sen each to RM13.82 and RM8.45 respectively, Hong Leong Bank slid six sen to RM24.14, while Petronas Dagangan and MISC were unchanged at RM21.20 and RM7.83.
On the most active list, Nationgate rose two sen to RM1.21, AirAsia X edged up one sen to RM1.67, Velesto Energy and Iconic Worldwide gained half a sen each to 32 sen and eight sen, and Capital A added 1.5 sen to 53.5 sen.
Top gainers included Kobay Technology, up 14 sen to RM1.86, Tradeplus Shariah Gold Tracker and Kein Hing International, which jumped nine sen each to RM6.08 and RM1.30, NCT Alliance up 3.5 sen to 62 sen, and Heitech Padu, three sen firmer at RM1.73.
Leading decliners were Nestle, down 50 sen to RM116.50, PPB Group and Scientex, eight sen lower at RM11.12 and RM3.82, and Ta Ann Holdings and Hong Leong Bank, each down six sen to RM4.33 and RM24.14.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index lost 10.36 points to 12,638.98, the FBM Top 100 Index fell 12.64 points to 12,430.92, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 9.71 points to 12,305.54. The FBM Mid 70 Index gained 11.43 points to 17,594.17, and the FBM ACE Index rose 9.70 points to 4,947.00.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dropped 23.73 points to 20,732.53, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.28 of-a-point to 176.58, while the Energy Index advanced 2.91 points to 781.29 and the Plantation Index ticked up 0.75 of-a-point to 8,359.37. — Bernama
