Kuala Lumpur:Bursa Malaysia's key index opened lower on Tuesday, influenced by weaker performance on Wall Street overnight, as rising crude oil prices and US bond yields affected market sentiment.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) decreased by 7.22 points, or 0.43%, to 1,662.80 at 9.10 am, following Monday's close of 1,670.02. The index started the day 5.91 points lower at 1,664.11. The market saw a negative breadth, with 210 decliners compared to 119 gainers. There were 308 unchanged counters, 2,254 untraded, and 143 suspended, with a turnover of 173.79 million shares valued at RM62.81 million.
The volatility in oil prices occurred after US President Donald Trump dismissed an Iranian proposal to resolve their conflict, causing a spike in crude prices. This led to revived inflation concerns and higher US Treasury yields. Currently, Brent crude oil rose 1.10% to US$106.29 per barrel.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, noted that the FBM KLCI continued its decline due to persistent foreign selling and weakness in regional emerging markets, which limited any recovery. He mentioned, "Nonetheless, the recent decline may attract selective bargain hunting in banking, energy and oversold blue-chip stocks. Thus, we expect cautious trading, with the index hovering within the 1,660-1,675 range today."
In terms of stock performance, Maybank rose by two sen to RM10.18, while Public Bank reduced by one sen to RM4.78, and CIMB fell by six sen to RM7.93. Tenaga Nasional added four sen to RM12.94, and IHH Healthcare dropped four sen to RM7.91.
Among actively traded stocks, Zetrix AI fell one sen to 18 sen, Jaks Resources increased by half a sen to 19 sen, and Ni Hsin dropped by half a sen to 38.5 sen. Es Sunlogy remained stable at 46.5 sen, while United Asiapac Energy rose by one sen to 25 sen.
Notable gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, up 30 sen to RM42.50, Petronas Gas, which gained 26 sen to RM17.56, and Fraser and Neave, rising 18 sen to RM22.40. KKB Engineering surged 11 sen to RM1.25, and Panasonic Manufacturing Asia increased by 10 sen to RM5.35.
Conversely, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was the biggest loser, dropping 44 sen to RM22.16. Allianz Malaysia decreased by 30 sen to RM20.80, and United Plantations edged down eight sen to RM31.52. Press Metal Aluminium and Hong Leong Financial both fell by six sen to RM7.46 and RM18.84, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index decreased by 49.18 points to 17,638.58, the FBM Emas Index fell 45.07 points to 12,369.72, and the FBM Top 100 Index dropped 47.97 points to 12,158.98. The FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 54.53 points to 12,187.79, and the FBM ACE Index trimmed 14.19 points to 5,476.42.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.49 points to 182.31, while the Energy Index decreased by 1.67 points to 860.15. The Financial Services Index lost 26.91 points to 19,571.47, and the Plantation Index cut 35.05 points to 9,183.44.