Bursa Malaysia Opens Lower, Tracking Wall Street Declines
By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad
KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Monday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street amid rising crude oil prices.
At 9.20 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 9.77 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 1,689.08 from last Friday’s close of 1,698.85.
The benchmark index opened 2.44 points lower at 1,696.41.
Market breadth was negative, with 247 decliners outpacing 193 gainers. A total of 326 counters were unchanged, 1,916 untraded and 21 suspended.
Turnover stood at 206.83 million shares valued at RM126.94 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Brent crude remained above US$100 per barrel as hopes for an early end to the US-Iran conflict faded.
“It was another bloodbath for Asian markets as Middle East tensions show no signs of abating, pushing crude oil higher and turning traders into sellers.
“For today, trading on the local bourse may be muted given persistently high crude prices, with the index likely to hover between 1,695 and 1,705,” he told Bernama.
He added planters could draw attention, with crude palm oil prices trending at RM4,500 per tonne.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI recorded a peak movement of around 2.5 per cent during the two-week US-Iran tensions, suggesting domestic markets adjusted relatively modestly compared with sharp swings in shipping and commodity indicators.
“For Malaysia, the modest reaction in FBM KLCI suggests domestic markets remain more influenced by regional risk sentiment and global dollar liquidity than by direct exposure to the initial energy shock.
“Malaysia’s commodity exposure, particularly in energy, may offer partial cushioning, potentially mitigating downside risks should higher oil prices persist,” he said.
Globally, he noted the largest market reactions were concentrated in shipping, energy, and volatility markets, showing how the geopolitical escalation initially transmitted through logistics and commodity channels.
“Oil tanker freight surged 97.3 per cent, followed by sharp rises in global risk volatility and energy prices. This pattern indicates the shock stemmed from energy supply and logistics risks before gradually impacting financial markets through higher volatility and risk aversion,” he added.
Among heavyweights, Maybank fell 12 sen to RM11.20, Public Bank and CIMB declined four sen each to RM4.75 and RM7.75, Tenaga Nasional rose 12 sen to RM14.32, and IHH Healthcare added three sen to RM8.86.
On the most active list, VS Industry inched up one sen to 30 sen, Top Glove slipped one sen to 59.5 sen, while TWL, Pharmaniaga, and AirAsia X were flat at 2.5 sen, 24.5 sen, and RM1.16, respectively.
Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, up 44 sen to RM30.06, Malayan Cement and United Plantation, up 34 sen each to RM6.49 and RM32.90, Gas Malaysia, up 14 sen to RM5.42, and Pineapple Resources, up 11 sen to 84 sen.
Top losers were Tradeplus Shariah Gold Tracker, down 14 sen to RM6.05, RHB Bank, down 12 sen to RM8.17, Ajinomoto and PPB Group, down 10 sen each to RM12.50 and RM11.30, and Kein Hing International, down 9 sen to RM1.16.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index fell 53.32 points to 12,196.10, the FBM Emas Index declined 48.51 points to 12,357.32, the FBM ACE Index fell 2.13 points to 4,373.67, the FBM 70 Index rose 3.17 points to 17,035.11, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 15.46 points to 12,145.38.
By sector, the Financial Services Index fell 235.21 points to 20,183.05, the Plantation Index gained 15.44 points to 8,459.63, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.16 of-a-point to 175.11, and the Energy Index slipped 0.35 of-a-point to 796.75.
-- BERNAMA