Bursa Malaysia turns lower in early trade after opening higher

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher on Friday but eased thereafter due to mild profit-taking in selected heavyweight counters

At 9.15 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 5.38 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 1,618.32 from Thursday's close of 1,623.70. The index opened 1.13 points higher at 1,624.83.

Across the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 300 to 136, while 281 counters were unchanged, 2,126 untraded, and 33 suspended.

Turnover stood at 319.91 million units worth RM148.84 million.

Apex Securities said local market sentiment may recover somewhat following Wall Street's overnight rebound, but the rotation out of US artificial intelligence (AI)-related technology stocks may continue to dampen global risk appetite. It said Thursday's sharply negative local market breadth also indicates that underlying risk appetite remains fragile despite relative resilience in the benchmark index.

"We therefore expect large-cap defensive names to provide support to the KLCI, while broader-market participation may remain subdued heading into the weekend. Overall, we expect the KLCI to remain range-bound, with investors likely to favour selective domestic and defensive exposures following subdued risk appetite," it said.

Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank fell six sen to RM10.02, while Public Bank was flat at RM4.74. CIMB lost 10 sen to RM7.38, and Tenaga Nasional slipped 2.0 sen to RM12.96. IHH Healthcare declined three sen to RM7.95.

In active trade, ACE Market debutant EGH International lost three sen to 13 sen, while Land & General and Malayan United Industries were both flat at 18 sen and 4 sen, respectively. YB Ventures added one sen to 6.5 sen, while VS Industry climbed half a sen to 33.5 sen.

Among the top gainers, Vitrox and Malayan Pacific each rose 18 sen to RM10.50 and RM 40.58, respectively. MN Holdings gained 14 sen to RM3.80, while Westports and Petronas Dagangan each gained 12 sen to RM6.85 and RM19.32.

Among the top losers, Dutch Lady Milk lost 24 sen to RM29.04, while Petronas Gas gave up 20 sen to RM17.40. CIMB and United Plantations each shed 10 sen to RM7.38 and RM30.50, respectively. Sarawak Oil Palms cut 13 sen to RM5.10

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 16.30 points to 12,057.22, while the FBM Top 100 Index declined 20.81 points to 11,855.05.

The FBM Mid 70 Index gained 47.55 points to 17,287.29, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 1.14 points to 12,001.40, and the FBM ACE Index rose 48.98 points to 5,359.88.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index fell 74.70 points to 18,751.94, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.14 points to 177.06, and the Plantation Index shed 36.34 points to 8,807.53.