Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened on a lower note, ending a two-day rally, as it tracked mixed performances from global markets. At 9:15 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) decreased by 4.59 points to 1,535.73, following an intra-day high of 1,540.32 recorded the previous day. The index initially opened 1.60 points lower at 1,538.66, with a turnover of 214.97 million shares valued at RM113.71 million.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd Head of Research Kenny Yee noted that Wall Street closed with mixed results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended lower, influenced by a sell-off in IBM shares. In contrast, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index maintained its upward momentum, staying within the 25,700 mark. This positive sentiment is linked to optimism surrounding the United States' negotiations amid ongoing trade tensions, with hopes for an agreement between the US and the EU.
Yee highlighted that the FBM KLCI showed a solid performance by closing at the 1,540 level, likely supported by institutional investors in anticipation of the upcoming results season. He anticipated that the index would continue its positive trend, hovering between the 1,535-1,550 range throughout the day.
Among major stocks, Maybank fell by two sen to RM9.61, Tenaga Nasional dropped 18 sen to RM13.76, and CIMB eased by one sen to RM6.69. Meanwhile, IHH Healthcare gained three sen to RM6.68, and Public Bank remained unchanged at RM4.31.
In terms of active counters, NexG increased by one sen to 52.5 sen, Green Packet added half-a-sen to five sen, and Lotte Chemicals fell by one sen to 69.5 sen. TWL, Pharmaniaga, and SFP Tech remained steady at 2.5 sen, 22 sen, and 20 sen respectively.
On the broader index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 30.76 points to 11,520.41, the FBMT 100 Index declined by 31.96 points to 11,282.60, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased by 39.34 points to 11,541.62. The FBM 70 Index was down by 39.42 points to 16,619.45, while the FBM ACE Index saw a slight gain of 0.88 points to 4,643.39.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index decreased by 10.21 points to 17,495.37 and the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped by 0.41 points to 157.75. Conversely, the Energy Index rose by 1.17 points to 739.85, and the Plantation Index edged up by 1.02 points to 7,470.98.