Bursa malaysia: Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, tracking Wall Street's weaker performance overnight as bond yields soared over concerns that recent high inflationary data may force the US Federal Reserve to hike rates. At 9.15 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI eased 8.04 points to 1,719.23 from yesterday's close of 1,727.27. The benchmark index opened 0.33 of a point lower at 1,726.94.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, on the broader market, losers surpassed gainers 367 to 113, while 317 counters were unchanged, 1,920 untraded, and 15 suspended. Turnover stood at 373.73 million shares valued at RM457.91 million. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that elevated bond yields and recent high inflation data had raised concerns that the US Federal Reserve may be forced to hike interest rates. Investors are closely watching the policy direction under new Fed chair Kevin Warsh.
Thong Pak Leng mentioned that the US 10-year yield hit a one-year high of 4.667 percent. After the FBM KLCI finished marginally lower yesterday, market sentiment remains cautious, with foreign funds locking in profits. He believes the index may consolidate and expects it to hover within the 1,720-1,735 range today.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank fell four sen to RM11.04, CIMB went down three sen to RM7.81, Tenaga Nasional edged down two sen to RM14.50, while Public Bank and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM4.79 and RM9, respectively. Among active stocks, the Main Market debutant SkyeChip rose RM1.74 to RM2.62, with Capital A and Oppstar up 1.5 sen each to 45.5 sen and 84 sen, respectively. Toyo Ventures was 3.5 sen higher at 30 sen, while PUC was flat at two sen.
Top gainers included Dutch Lady Milk Industries, which surged 20 sen to RM33.20. Sunway Construction advanced 11 sen to RM7.41, Apollo Food perked eight sen to RM5.98, while Atlan and Analabs Resources improved five sen each to RM2.70 and RM1.75, respectively. Among top losers, Nestle gave up RM1.14 to RM93.90, Petronas Gas slid 36 sen to RM17.36, Petronas Dagangan was down 32 sen to RM18.88, Malaysian Pacific Industries lost 30 sen to RM42.90, and United Plantations slipped 22 sen to RM30.10.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 62.22 points to 12,741.48, the FBM Top 100 Index declined 60.09 points to 12,579.99, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was down 74.99 points to 12,660.17, the FBM ACE Index edged down 21.06 points to 4,685.53, and the FBM Mid 70 Index slipped 92.53 points to 18,283.39. By sector, the Financial Services Index fell 47.58 points to 20,035.48, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.10 points to 197.77, the Energy Index shed 8.63 points to 794.42, and the Plantation Index gave up 27.45 points to 8,593.49.