KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower today as investors took profits in selected heavyweights, given an absence of Wall Street leads following the United States’ Labour Day holiday.
At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.89 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 1,711.90 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79.
The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14.
Market breadth was, nonetheless, positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 154 to 144. A total of 316 counters were unchanged, 2,185 untraded and 25 suspended.
Turnover stood at 417.63 million shares worth RM152.17 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said despite the Wall Street’s close, a peek at the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures is already down by 300 points amid the trade tension between Canada and the US.
He said some regional markets reacted negatively to the stronger-than-expected US job data as traders turned cautious ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting this month.
Back home, investors returned to accumulate blue chips that have been sold down recently.
“Overall sentiment is still cautious, as illustrated by the lower daily volume of below four billion shares.
“Amid the numerous headwinds, we believe ongoing consolidation will persist and we expect the benchmark index to trend within the 1,710-1,720 range today,” Thong told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Brent crude stayed firm at US$97 per barrel alongside a US 10-year Treasury yield of 4.78 per cent.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB were down by two sen each to RM10.56 and RM7.98, respectively. Public Bank eased a sen to RM4.99, while Tenaga rose two sen to RM13.86 and IHH Healthcare advanced three sen to RM7.93.
Among the actives, Zetrix AI firmed up 2.5 sen to 29.5 sen, HHRG decreased a sen to 19.5 sen, TWL fell half a sen to two sen, while Kinergy was flat at 40 sen.
ACE-Market debutant GTA Holdings added half a sen to 35.5 sen. The share price opened flat at 35 sen with 106,509 shares traded.
Among the top gainers, Telekom garnered nine sen to RM7.99, Hong Leong Financial gained eight sen to RM18.90, while ITMax System, Vitrox and Malayan Cement rose six sen each to RM4.31, RM9.10 and RM6.09 respectively.
Among the top losers, Petronas Gas shed 18 sen to RM17.52, United Plantations declined 16 sen to RM32.04, MISC, Allianz Malaysia and Hong Leong Bank slid eight sen each to RM7.69, RM21.30 and RM23.58, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index rose 1.20 points to 17,778.06, and the FBM ACE Index grew 13.81 points to 5,272.12.
The FBM Emas Index dipped 13.95 points to 12,646.54, the FBM Top 100 Index weakened 15.56 points to 12,451.49, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 4.04 points to 12,406.49.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index trimmed 38.20 points to 20,150.54, while the Plantation Index inched down 6.14 points to 9,382.54.
The Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.54 of-a-point to 186.42, and the Energy Index eased 0.81 of-a-point to 808.40. — Bernama
