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Bursa Opens Little Changed On Friday 

By Karina Imran

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher today on volatile trading amid Wall Street's mixed sentiment after corporate earnings showed varying performances, said an analyst.

At 9.15 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched up a marginal 0.3 points to 1,632.53 from Thursday's close of 1,632.23.

The benchmark index opened 0.79 of-a-point at 1,633.02.

The market breadth was negative, with decliners surpassing advancers 180 to 145, while 299 counters were unchanged, 1,878 untraded, and 31 suspended.

Turnover stood at 249.69 million units, valued at RM99.39 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Asian stocks ended mostly lower yesterday, pressured by global equity sell-offs linked to rising US Treasury yields.

"It also led the FBM KLCI to close lower on Thursday. We reckon this presents a buying opportunity for bargain hunters.

"As the index approaches oversold levels, we expect stock accumulation on dips and foresee a rebound, with the index trending between 1,630-1,640 today," he told Bernama. 

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added two sen to RM10.60 and Tenaga Nasional rose six sen to RM14.42. 

In contrast, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare fell three sen to RM4.49 and RM7.38, respectively, while CIMB Group ticked down two sen to RM8.11.

As for active counters, Ingenieur Gudang eased half-a-sen to five sen and YNH Property inched down one sen to 48 sen, while Alpha IVF was flat at 36 sen. 

Silver Ridge and Lotus KFM increased by half-a-sen to 45.5 sen and 22 sen, respectively. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slipped 0.51 of-a-point to 12,299.19, the FBM 70 Index fell 18.08 points to 17,730.23, and the FBMT 100 Index inched down 1.92 points to 11,999.71. 

Meanwhile, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 6.30 points to 12,250.85 and the FBM ACE Index garnered 10.73 points to 5,121.67.

By sector, the Financial Services Index dived 21.93 points to 19,385.64, and the Energy Index was 3.52 points easier to 855.51. 

However, the Plantation Index climbed 33.77 points to 7,313.88, and the Industrial Products and Services Index bagged 0.35 of-a-point to 176.17.

-- BERNAMA