KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened slightly lower amid cautious sentiment in view of heightened volatility on Wall Street and global currencies versus the US dollar, said a dealer.
At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.60 of a point to 1,441.30 from Friday’s closing of 1,441.90.
The benchmark index opened 1.86 points lower at 1,440.40.
On the broader market, decliners edged past gainers 177 to 97 while 249 counters were unchanged, 1,869 untraded and 76 suspended.
Turnover stood at 152.46 million units worth RM46.66 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street continued to decline as traders largely ignored the recent spate of corporate earnings in a bid to navigate out from the prevailing confluence of headwinds.
As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 367 points (1.1%) while the Nasdaq managed to stay above water, adding 47 points (0.4%), supported mainly by Amazon while the US 10-year yield remains stubbornly high at 4.845%.
“We believe trading activities on the local bourse may remain muted as we head towards the third quarter (3Q) 2023 results season.
“For today, we expect the index to trend within the 1,435-1,445 range,” Thong said.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices rebounded with Brent crude closing above the US$90 per barrel level again on the prevailing tension in the Middle East.
Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals fell four sen to RM7.26, IOI Corp dropped three sen to RM3.89, Press Metal Aluminium shed two sen to RM4.86, Petronas Gas was down six sen to RM17.10 and Tenaga Nasional slid two sen to RM9.85.
Of the actives, Asdion declined one sen to eight sen, Key Asic decreased 1.5 sen to 7.5 sen, Tanco was flat at 57.5 sen and Mestron gave up half-a-sen to 45 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dipped 2.97 points to 10,631.03, the FBMT 100 Index was down 2.77 points to 10,304.23 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 5.96 points to 10,840.16.
The FBM 70 Index was 2.91 points higher at 14,000.62 and the FBM ACE Index gained 23.49 points to 5,061.76.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.45 of a point weaker at 172.28 and the Plantation Index lost 7.31 points to 6,881.54.
The Energy Index rose 1.15 points to 875.73 and the Financial Services Index was up 6.91 points to 16,240.28. – Bernama, October 30, 2023
