Bursa Malaysia eases at open as investors await fresh direction

At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.07 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 1,607.07 from yesterday’s close of 1,608.14. The index opened 1.07 points lower at 1,607.63. — Picture by Zuraneeza Zulkifli

First Published: Friday, 23 Oct 2026 10:50 AM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Friday, tracking weaker overnight performance on Wall Street. 

At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.07 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 1,607.07 from yesterday’s close of 1,608.14. The index opened 1.07 points lower at 1,607.63.

Across the broader market, decliners edged advancers 205 to 71, while 213 counters were unchanged, 2,412 untraded, and 16 were suspended.

Turnover stood at 128.40 million units worth RM44.06 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the brokerage continues to view the local bourse as undervalued, with the market currently trading at around 15 times its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, below its historical average of 16.5 times.

“Though we expect accumulation of stocks to remain, market velocity is expected to stay muted. We anticipate the index to hover within the 1,600-1,615 range today,” he said.

Among the heavyweight stocks, Maybank, CIMB and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM9.97, RM7.15, and RM7.99, respectively. Public Bank gained two sen to RM4.73, while Tenaga Nasional fell 10 sen to RM13.14. 

In active trade, Zetrix AI gained 1.5 sen to 6.5 sen, while WTS Capital fell half a sen to 17 sen. GIIB Holdings, Kinergy Advancement, and Compugates Holdings were flat at 71.5 sen, 37.5 sen and one sen, respectively.   

MISC led the top gainers, gaining 21 sen to RM8.46, while Petronas Chemicals added nine sen to RM4.58, and MHC Plantations rose five sen to RM1.75. Hengyuan Refining Company and Suria Capital gained four sen each to RM4.09 and RM1.16, respectively.    

Among the top losers, LPI Capital lost 32 sen to RM12.94, while Batu Kawan decreased 30 sen to RM19.00. United Plantations declined 18 sen to RM30.14, and Vitrox Corporation eased 16 sen to RM10.42. MI Technovation slipped 12 sen to RM6.26.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 15.37 points to 11,949.13, while the FBM Top 100 Index lost 14.01 points to 11,755.82. 

The FBM Mid 70 Index fell 46.27 points to 17,072.09, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 21.44 points higher at 11,910.54, and the FBM ACE Index fell 31.59 points to 5,291.91.  

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slipped 0.22 points to 18,604.78, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.12 points to 175.33, and the Plantation Index slid 23.69 points to 8,638.98. However, the Energy Index edged up 0.11 points to 831.91. — Bernama