Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened slightly lower on Wednesday, as ongoing profit-taking activities limited gains despite a positive rebound on Wall Street, an analyst highlighted. At 9.15 am, the benchmark index dropped 6.58 points to 1,713.79 from Tuesday's close of 1,720.37. The index began the day 0.53 points lower at 1,719.84.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 237 to 153, with 364 counters remaining unchanged, 1,993 untraded, and 23 suspended. The total turnover amounted to 280.69 million shares valued at RM121.98 million. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that Wall Street saw a rally, with all three major indices ending higher, driven by a resurgence in semiconductor stocks and positive corporate earnings, which mitigated geopolitical tensions in West Asia. Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield rose to 4.626 percent amid increasing crude oil prices.
"Locally, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined but rebounded from the day's low at 1,712 before intermittent bargain-hunting activities resumed. Consequently, we anticipate the index to fluctuate between the 1,715 and 1,730 range today," Thong informed Bernama.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank fell six sen to RM10.96, Public Bank and CIMB Group decreased by three sen each to RM5.17 and RM7.65, respectively, Tenaga Nasional dropped eight sen to RM14.48, and IHH Healthcare slipped five sen to RM8.45. In terms of active stocks, AIMAX Bhd remained flat at one sen, Nexgram Holdings edged up half-a-sen to 4.5 sen, while Tanco, V.S Industry, and P. A Resources each added one sen to 32.5 sen, 26 sen, and 21 sen, respectively.
Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which surged 56 sen to RM47.40, Fraser and Neave Holdings, which climbed 24 sen to RM29.04, KESM Industries, which increased 11 sen to RM4.19, Wesports Holdings, which grew by 10 sen to RM6.60, and Petron Malaysia Refining and Marketing, which rose nine sen to RM3.65.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong led the list of losers, dropping 28 sen to RM20.86. United Plantations fell by 26 sen to RM33.48, Petronas Dagangan decreased by 12 sen to RM19.38, and SD Guthrie dropped 10 sen to RM6.52. Among the broader indices, the FBM Emas Index fell 29.24 points to 12,680.52, the FBMT Top 100 Index decreased by 35.06 points to 12,503.07, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased by 14.42 points to 12,530.03. The FBM Mid 70 Index improved by 4.75 points to 18,013.53, and the FBM ACE Index gained 16.30 points to 4,983.16.
By sector, the Financial Services Index slipped 87.26 points to 20,212.87, the Plantation Index declined by 74.72 points to 9,282.28, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.56 of a point to 187.80, and the Energy Index increased by 6.55 points to 776.95. Trading in the securities of Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd was temporarily halted from 9 am to 10 am today.