Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Wednesday, impacted by profit-taking activities following gains in the previous session amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, at 9.04 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell by 4.38 points to 1,728.98 from Tuesday's close of 1,733.36. The benchmark index began the day 1.39 points lower at 1,731.97. Market sentiment was negative, with 219 losers surpassing 101 gainers. Additionally, 256 counters remained unchanged, 2,297 were untraded, and 16 were suspended. The turnover was reported at 116.63 million shares valued at RM53.77 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd noted in a report that investor caution persists as the market enters the corporate earnings season. The firm observed that corporate earnings have been promising, especially for companies in the plantation sector, but suggested maintaining vigilance. They expect the index to move within the 1,725-1,735 range for the day.
Among the market heavyweights, Maybank fell by two sen to RM10.60, CIMB Group decreased by three sen to RM7.92, Tenaga Nasional dropped six sen to RM14.36, and IHH Healthcare slid eight sen to RM8.07. Public Bank remained unchanged at RM5.11.
In the most active list, TWL Holdings and GIIB Holdings held steady at 2.5 sen and 39.5 sen, respectively, while Zetrix AI increased by 1.5 sen to 65 sen. Pentech Holdings rose three sen to 32 sen, and Lotte Chemical Titan Holdings added five sen to 36 sen.
Top gainers included Dutch Lady Milk Industries, which rose RM1 to RM32.50, and Hong Leong Bank, which gained 20 sen to RM22.80. KPJ Healthcare increased by nine sen to RM3.11, while Hengyuan Refining Company and ITMAX System both added five sen to close at RM1.99 and RM4.50, respectively.
On the other hand, Malaysian Pacific Industries and Allianz Malaysia each dropped 18 sen to RM47.84 and RM22, respectively. Kelington Group and Vitrox Corporation both fell 12 sen to RM8.88 and RM9.32, respectively, and Johor Plantations Group declined by nine sen to RM1.96.
Among broader indices, the FBM 70 Index declined by 21.84 points to 18,189.82. The FBM Emas Shariah Index fell by 31.28 points to 12,635.46, and the FBM Emas Index decreased by 27.74 points to 12,801.96. The FBM Top 100 Index contracted by 27.69 points to 12,616.85, and the FBM ACE Index fell by 13.56 points to 5,287.62.
By sector, the Energy Index inched up by 0.46 of-a-point to 778.87. Meanwhile, the Plantation Index decreased by 13.84 points to 9,362.84, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.41 of-a-point to 189.02, and the Financial Services Index dropped by 18.11 points to 20,289.88.