Bursa Malaysia Opens Flat, Tracking Wall St Performance

By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani

KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia was almost unchanged at the opening today, due to a lack of fresh catalysts after the flat Wall Street performance overnight, analysts said. 

At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 0.02 points to 1,511.97 from Wednesday’s close of 1,511.95 . The benchmark index opened 0.99 of-a-point higher at 1,512.94.

The broader market was marginally negative, with 98 decliners outnumbering 82 gainers. Another 227 counters were unchanged, while 2,016 were untraded and 11 suspended.

Turnover stood at 52.84 million shares worth RM25.57 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd’s equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said that the flat Wall Street performance came after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) maintained its interest rate stance, while geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to draw worries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 44 points, or 0.1 per cent, the S&P 500 slipped 0.03 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.13 per cent.

Equities in Asia ended broadly lower yesterday as the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East remained unresolved. As a result, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 1.12 per cent. On the local front, the FBM KLCI finished a tad higher on Wednesday after a roller coaster session.

The low trading volume reflected investor caution, with many avoiding long positions due to persistent global risks and volatile market conditions. “We foresee trading will remain muted following the lack of catalysts and heightened market risks. Hence, we anticipate the benchmark index to trend within the range of 1,500-1,520 points today,” Thong told Bernama.

Among heavyweights, Maybank gained 2.0 sen to RM9.64, while Tenaga and CelcomDigi remained flat at RM14.22 and RM3.81, respectively. Public Bank fell 3.0 sen to RM4.21 and CIMB added 3.0 sen to RM6.68. 

Among the most active stocks, HLT Global eased half-a-sen to 5.0 sen, SNS Network Technology ticked up 2.0 sen to 55.5 sen, and Dagang Nexchange added 1.0 sen to 30 sen. Elridge Energy Holdings and Dataprep Holdings were unchanged at 59.5 sen and 11.5 sen, respectively. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index grew 2.37 points to 11,304.18, the FBMT 100 Index perked up 2.36 points to 11,082.46, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 0.04 of-a-point to 11,310.38. The FBM 70 Index climbed 12.45 points to 16,213.24, but the FBM ACE Index dropped 7.04 points to 4,434.30.

By sector, the Plantation Index strengthened 12.10 points to 7,250.14, while the Energy Index declined by 2.06 points to 738.55.

The Financial Services Index bagged 12.98 points to 17,434.41, but the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 0.26 of-a-point to 149.80.

-- BERNAMA