Bursa opens lower on higher US yields, Middle East tensions
Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Thursday, tracking Wall Street’s mixed performance as higher US Treasury yields and ongoing tensions in the Middle East dampened buying interest.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 3.74 points, or 0.22%, to 1,647.43 from Wednesday’s close of 1,651.17.
The index opened 1.30 points lower at 1,649.87.
On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 200 to 142, with 307 counters unchanged, 2,124 untraded and 12 suspended.
Turnover stood at 246.59 million shares worth RM118.14 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed mixed as softer inflation eased expectations of another US Federal Reserve rate hike, although elevated bond yields continued to weigh on sentiment.
On the domestic front, he said the market benchmark may trade cautiously, with weak market breadth and recent foreign selling indicating continued caution among investors.
“Thus, for today, we expect the index to remain in consolidation mode within the 1,640-1,660 range, with bargain hunting providing some downside support,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and IHH Healthcare were unchanged at RM9.90 and RM7.83 respectively. Public Bank fell three sen to RM4.67, CIMB shed one sen to RM7.78 and Tenaga Nasional lost two sen to RM12.94.
In active trade, ACE Market debutant GB Bond fell half a sen to 24.5 sen, while VS Industry was unchanged at 28 sen. Astro Malaysia added half a sen to six sen, Jaks Resources gained one sen to 21.5 sen and Divfex advanced two sen to 11 sen.
Among the top gainers, Keck Seng advanced 11 sen to RM5.14 and Petron Malaysia rose seven sen to RM3.47. Hengyuan Refining and Spritzer each gained six sen to RM3.62 and RM3.67 respectively, while Jati Tinggi strengthened five sen to RM1.44.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong led the decliners, falling 18 sen to RM22.02. UWC shed 15 sen to RM6.92, while Insights Analytics and MISC each fell nine sen to RM1.20 and RM7.55 respectively. Petronas Dagangan lost eight sen to RM19.20.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index fell 42.26 points to 17,532.41, the FBM Emas Index declined 26.32 points to 12,265.69, and the FBM Top 100 Index shed 27.82 points to 12,056.62.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index weakened 22.09 points to 12,154.26, while the FBM ACE Index trimmed 6.31 points to 5,527.97.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.10 point to 180.31, while the Energy Index gained 1.41 points to 847.11. The Financial Services Index fell 27.47 points to 19,189.02, while the Plantation Index retreated 33.34 points to 9,163.33.
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