Bursa Malaysia Retreats After Brief Early Lift

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (Bernama)  -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Monday, supported by stronger regional markets, but later pared gains as mild profit-taking hit select heavyweights, analysts said.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 1.34 points to 1,633.72, down from Friday’s 1,635.06, after opening 1.08 points higher at 1,636.14.

Market breadth remained positive, with 200 gainers outnumbering 177 decliners. Meanwhile, 367 counters were unchanged, 1,820 untraded, and seven suspended.

Turnover stood at 258.73 million units, valued at RM104.81 million.

The local market initially tracked regional gains, with Singapore’s Straits Times Index up 0.09 per cent at 4,415.82, South Korea’s Kospi gaining 2.70 per cent, and Japan’s Nikkei advancing 4.21 per cent to 47,697.07. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was unchanged at 27,140.92.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street remained unconcerned about the ongoing US government shutdown, with major indices hitting record highs before profit-taking.

“There are, however, underlying concerns over the US economic and labour market health,” he added, noting that the US 10-year yield inched higher to 4.121 per cent.

“Looking ahead, we believe trading on the local bourse will remain healthy on the back of improving daily volume. The return of foreign funds could act as a catalyst, and we anticipate the index will trend within the 1,635–1,650 range today,” Thong told Bernama.

Among heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional rose four sen to RM13.32, while Maybank and Public Bank were flat at RM10 and RM4.34, respectively. CIMB slipped four sen to RM7.64, and IHH Healthcare fell one sen to RM8.12.

In active trading, KNM Group lost 2.5 sen to RM0.50, NexG rose one sen to RM0.53, NexG Bina was unchanged at RM0.095, Erdasan Group gained 1.5 sen to RM0.14, and Sarawak Consolidated added one sen to RM0.22.

Top gainers included KESM Industries, up eight sen to RM3.94; KJTS Group, up seven sen to RM1.79; PJBumi and Sarawak Plantation, each rising six sen to RM2.16 and RM2.14, respectively; and Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia, up five sen to RM0.588.

Top losers were Malaysian Pacific Industries and Ayer Holdings, each down eight sen to RM31.14 and RM7.60; SAM Engineering and Kein Hing International, down seven sen to RM4.48 and RM1.17, respectively; and Gamuda, which lost six sen to RM5.44.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 6.83 points to 12,174.84, the FBM 100 Index eased 9.89 points to 11,899.07, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 1.71 points to 12,195.44.

The FBM 70 Index dropped 14.85 points to 17,075.35, while the FBM ACE Index rose 20.50 points to 5,367.62.

By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.06 of-a-point to 17,429, the Energy Index rose 0.73 of-a-point to 788.39, the Plantation Index gained 12.17 points to 7,808.81, and the Financial Services Index fell 21.63 points to 18,580.77.

-- BERNAMA