BURSA Malaysia’s main index retreated from yesterday’s gains to open marginally lower today, weighed by a mixed performance on Wall Street overnight following a surge in crude oil prices, an analyst said.

At 9.15 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) decreased 0.97 of-a-point to 1,432.42 from yesterday’s closing of 1,433.39

The main index opened 1.15 points lower at 1,432.24.

Market breadth was positive as gainers led decliners 222 to 124, while 244 counters were unchanged, 1,635 untraded and 30 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 311.29 million units worth RM115.57 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the local bourse may expect some intermittent correction amidst improved performance in regional markets.

“We expect the index to hover between 1,430 and 1,440. Oil and gas stocks should be back in the limelight following the surge in crude oil prices,” he said. 

Among the heavyweights, Maybank eased two sen to RM8.65, Public Bank gained one sen to RM4.01, Petronas Chemicals added three sen to RM7.24, and CIMB lost one sen to RM5.29.

As for the actives, Fitters was down half–a-sen to 7.5 sen, Reach Energy fell 2.5 sen to five sen, Pesona Metro rose half-a-sen to 25 sen, and Computer Forms added one sen to 24 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 3.43 points to 10,504.89, the FBMT 100 Index rose 2.21 points to 10,191.46 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 4.27 points to 10,815.95.

The FBM 70 Index went up 40.65 points to 13,646.81 and the FBM ACE Index was 25.19 points better at 5,337.31.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index grew 2.22 points to 15,802.31, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.26 of-a-point to 173.32, the Plantation Index firmed 9.68 points to 6,788.92, and the Energy Index advanced 0.56 of-a-point to 866.32. — Bernama / pic Bloomberg