Bursa Malaysia Opens Lower As Wall Street Weakness Weighs

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Thursday, with the benchmark index tracking overnight weakness on Wall Street.

Sentiment was dampened by a higher-than-expected US producer price index, which rose 0.7 per cent against a consensus forecast of 0.3 per cent, while the US Federal Reserve maintained its policy rate, a dealer said.

At 9.11 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 7.73 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 1,722.08 from Wednesday’s close of 1,729.81.

The key index had opened 6.52 points lower at 1,723.29 and continued to decline.

Market breadth was negative, with 338 losers outpacing 116 gainers. A total of 251 counters were unchanged, 2,061 untraded and 11 suspended.

Turnover stood at 243.98 million shares worth RM185.11 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, said the US 10-year yield edged higher to 4.265 per cent.

“Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index continued its ascent to close above 26,000 amid steady crude oil prices, despite lingering tensions in West Asia,” he told Bernama.

Back home, Thong said that although the FBM KLCI closed higher yesterday, it remains uncertain whether buying momentum will continue ahead of the long Hari Raya Aidilfitri weekend.

“Nonetheless, for today, we expect the index to hover within the 1,720–1,740 range. If foreign funds continue as net buyers, we may even see a precursor to a potential Raya rally,” he added.

At the time of writing, Brent crude rose 3.18 per cent to US$110.80 per barrel.

Among heavyweights, Maybank and IHH Healthcare fell 10 sen each to RM11.64 and RM9.29, Public Bank slid 1 sen to RM4.92, CIMB lost 5 sen to RM7.90, and Tenaga Nasional edged down 6 sen to RM14.18.

On the most active list, Sunway Healthcare gained 3 sen to RM1.88, Hengyuan Refining Company rose 11 sen to RM1.55, AirAsia X fell 6 sen to RM1.24, while TWL and Astro Malaysia were flat at 2.5 sen and 7.5 sen, respectively.

Among the top gainers, Petronas Chemicals rose 27 sen to RM5.17, Gas Malaysia added 16 sen to RM5.60, Hibiscus Petroleum and Petronas Gas advanced 8 sen each to RM2.20 and RM18.00, and Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing increased 7 sen to RM4.70.

Top losers included Nestle, which slid RM1.28 to RM99.62, United Plantations down 42 sen to RM33.56, Batu Kawan off 38 sen to RM19.50, and Hong Leong Bank and Malaysian Pacific Industries down 20 sen each to RM23.00 and RM30.00.

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index fell 59.49 points to 12,402.69, the FBM Emas Index dropped 58.63 points to 12,556.14, the FBM ACE Index declined 38.27 points to 4,411.51, the FBM 70 Index eased 99.78 points to 17,180.59, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 38.59 points to 12,248.42.

By sector, the Financial Services Index slipped 129.30 points to 20,763.72, the Plantation Index shed 29.10 points to 8,569.41, while the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.74 of-a-point to 181.35 and the Energy Index gained 8.83 points to 792.58.

-- BERNAMA