KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 13): Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Tuesday (Sept 13), despite the improved regional market sentiment after a rally on Wall Street overnight, said an analyst.
At 9.10am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had shaved 0.86 of a point to 1,497.10, from Monday’s close at 1,497.96.
The benchmark index opened 0.56 point lower at 1,497.40.
However, on the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 192 to 113, while 233 counters were unchanged, 1,803 untraded, and nine others suspended.
Turnover stood at 290.1 million units worth RM87.81 million.
Wall Street extended its winning streak on Monday, rallying to a sharply higher close, with energy and technology shares helping the three major US stock indices touch a two-week high.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street trended higher, as traders believed that inflation might have peaked in the US, easing concerns over the US Federal Reserve’s tough stance on future rate hikes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 230 points, while the Nasdaq gained 154 points, whereas the US 10-year yield edged higher to 3.36%.
“As for the local bourse, the KLCI failed to stay above the 1,500 level on Monday, despite going above that level in the early trading session.
“Though overall sentiment on the local bourse remains cautious, we expect selected buying to persist today (Tuesday), in particular in the technology sector as well as for telecommunications counters after yesterday’s decline,” Thong told Bernama.
He reckoned that the oil and gas sector may see some buying, after Brent crude continued its upside trend of US$94 per barrel as the Iran nuclear deal faded, prompting oil supply worries.
Meanwhile, Bursa heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) added three sen to RM9.02, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd gained four sen to RM5.51 and IHH Healthcare too increased by four sen to RM6.25, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd declined seven sen to RM8.82 and Public Bank Bhd was flat at RM4.62.
Of the actives, CSH Alliance Bhd eased half a sen to four sen, Impiana Hotels Bhd decreased one sen to 1.5 sen and Aimflex Bhd edged up half a sen to 13.5 sen, while MQ Technology Bhd was flat at 3.5 sen and Vinvest Capital Holdings Bhd too was unchanged at 20 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 1.86 points better at 10,657.45, the FBMT 100 Index rose 0.91 of a point to 10,400.51, the FBM Emas Shariah Index strengthened 11.08 points to 10,734.03, the FBM 70 expanded 28.66 points to 12,872.63 and the FBM ACE was 16.53 points stronger at 4,910.72.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index firmed 2.17 points to 718.63 and the Plantation Index bagged 30.08 points to 7,007.50, while the Industrial Products and Services Index shaved 0.35 of a point to 184.83, and the Financial Services Index gave up 10.94 points to 16,874.88.-BERNAMA