BURSA Malaysia opened lower today despite the gains on Wall Street overnight as cautious investors await inflation data in the United States and the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) policy meeting on interest rates next week.
At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 1.33 points to 1,381.84 from 1,383.17 at Tuesday’s close.
The key index opened 1.17 points easier at 1,382.00.
The broader market was negative with decliners surpassing advancers 134 to 114, while 213 counters were unchanged, 1,783 untraded and 13 others suspended.
Turnover was 149.63 million units worth RM58.56 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed modestly firmer as all three major indices are currently hovering at a nine-month high.
“However, we reckon trading in the local bourse will remain subdued as sentiment remains cautious amid prevailing political scenarios,” he told Bernama, adding that he expects the index to trend between the 1,380 and 1,390 range today.
He also advocates that investors look at banking stocks following a spate of solid results for the first quarter of 2023 and that the financial index is currently trading at a six-month low.
Among the heavyweight stocks, Maybank and Public Bank added two sen to RM8.60 and RM3.83, respectively. Tenaga Nasional eased one sen to RM9.29, Petronas Chemicals shed 10 sen to RM6.42 and CIMB trimmed two sen to RM4.86.
Of the actives, Classita inched up half-a-sen to 13.5 sen, Revenue Group grew by two sen to 31 sen and Meta Bright trimmed half-a-sen to 17 sen, while Leform was flat at 22 sen.
On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index declined 6.48 points to 9,888.84, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 16.71 points to 10,564.52 and the FBM ACE Index lost 5.20 points to 5,034.21.
The FBM Emas Index reduced by 6.06 points to 10,190.73 and the FBM 70 Index went up by 3.77 points to 13,479.79.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index dipped by 0.18 of-a-point to 159.60 and the Plantation Index dropped by 7.39 points to 6,704.04.
The Financial Services Index advanced 17.79 points to 15,109.58 and the Energy Index pushed up 0.03 of-a-point to 790.46. — Bernama