KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened higher but retreated within minutes, tracking the weaker Wall Street performance over the ongoing war in Ukraine, while further US interest rate hikes may continue to plague overall sentiments.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.77 points to 1,584.59 from 1,587.36 at Thursday’s close.
The barometer index opened 0.93 of-a-point higher at 1,588.29.
On the broader market, losers thumped gainers 234 to 99, while 229 counters were unchanged, 1,674 untraded and 35 others suspended.
Total turnover stood at 180.92 million worth RM78.86 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said overall sentiment is seen to remain cautious due to lack of catalysts.
“Thus, we reckon the index to hover within the 1,580-1,595 range today.
“Meanwhile, Brent crude eased to settle at US$107 per barrel on news that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will increase supply,” he told Bernama.
Back home, Bursa Malaysia’s key heavyweights, Maybank fell one sen to RM8.93, Public Bank and IHH Healhcare deducted two sen each to RM4.65 and RM6.18, respectively, and Petronas Chemicals slid five sen to RM9.55.
Nestle bagged 50 sen to RM134.10, PPB Group advanced 10 sen to RM17.20, KL Kepong added four sen to RM25.24, while Tenaga Nasional and Axiata were flat at RM9.00 and RM3.79, respectively.
Of the actives, Pappajack increased 7.5 sen to 37.5 sen, MQ Technology, Vinest Capital and Jade Marvel were half-a-sen lower at 4.5 sen, 23 sen and 79.5 sen, respectively, while TWL rose half-a-sen to 7.5 sen.
On the index board, FBM 70 decreased 34.29 points to 13,819.18, FBMT 100 Index slid 21.18 points to 11,044.93, FBM Emas Index contracted 23.26 points to 11,364.06, FBM Emas Shariah Index reduced 33.04 points to 11,910.31, while FBM ACE inched up 0.80 of-a-point to 5,619.62.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.30 of-a-point to 205.14, the Plantation Index trimmed 19.79 points to 7,933.19, while the Financial Services Index ticked up 1.96 points to 16,780.55.
Meanwhile, the ringgit opened lower against the greenback this morning due to falling crude oil prices amidst the US President Joe Biden’s administration’s decision on a record-breaking release of crude oil reserves to tame prices, said an analyst.
At 9am, the local currency was trading at 4.2100/2140 against the greenback from 4.2025/2055 at Thursday’s close.
It was reported that the US government has announced that it will withdraw one million barrels per day of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for a period of six months in bid to lower fuel prices and allay fears of shortages after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. – Bernama, April 1, 2022
