Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Thursday, influenced by Wall Street's mixed performance overnight, where traders engaged in profit-taking following the United States Federal Reserve's anticipated rate cut and its outlook for further adjustments. At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) experienced a decline of 10.81 points, settling at 1,600.89 compared to the previous day's close of 1,611.70. The index had initially opened 4.84 points weaker, at 1,606.86.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's head of research, Kenny Yee Shen Pin, noted that funds have recently turned net buyers, which is a positive development for the local bourse. He mentioned that the index is expected to trend within the 1,610-1,625 range for the day.
Several heavyweights saw declines, with Maybank and Public Bank each dropping two sen to RM9.92 and RM4.28, respectively. CIMB decreased by three sen to RM4.28, Tenaga fell by eight sen to RM13.36, and IHH reduced by seven sen to RM7.29. In terms of active trading, Notion increased by 3.5 sen to 59.5 sen, MCLean rose four sen to 50.5 sen, Pharmaniaga gained half a sen to 28 sen, L and P Global added one sen to 12.5 sen, while Perak Transit saw a slight decrease of half a sen to 68.5 sen.
Among the top losers, Nestle dropped 84 sen to RM97.06, Petronas Dagangan fell by 72 sen to RM22.26, Hexza decreased by eight sen to 88 sen, Ralco declined by 7.5 sen to 92 sen, and Petronas Gas weakened by six sen to RM18.24. Conversely, top gainers included Allianz, which increased by 58 sen to RM19.08, Formosa, which rose 18 sen to RM1.63, CI Holdings, which strengthened by 16 sen to RM2.74, KL Kepong, which firmed by 14 sen to RM20.22, and Kluang Rubber, which gained 10 sen to RM5.70.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index declined by 51.60 points to 11,892.39, the FBMT 100 Index fell by 55.60 points to 11,644.64, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased by 26.89 points to 11,909.51. Meanwhile, the FBM 70 Index increased by 22.28 points to 16,642.38, but the FBM ACE Index was 13.28 points lower at 4,836.75.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index decreased by 0.59 of-a-point to 166.96, the Plantation Index advanced by 9.66 points to 7,743.86, the Financial Services Index lost 116.01 points to 18,126.13, and the Energy Index gained 1.40 points to 752.14.