KUALA LUMPUR (May 30): Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Monday (May 30) with the key index falling 0.81%, weighed down by selected heavyweights.
At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI had decreased 1.26 points to 1,545.50 from last Friday’s close at 1,546.76.
The benchmark index opened 0.41 of a point lower at 1,546.35.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 187 to 133, while 217 counters were unchanged, 1,764 untraded and 64 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 155.46 million units worth RM46.78 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, in a note, said sellers took a breather as Wall Street closed broadly higher, buoyed by slowing inflation news and strong retail earnings.
The Dow Jones Index Average ended 576 points higher, while the Nasdaq jumped by 390 points.
“Reflecting the rally on Wall Street, we, however, reckon that the index will possibly trend higher today (Monday) as the regional performance is expected to see an upswing.
“We believe the index will hover within the 1,540-1,555 range today,” the firm said.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices edged higher as demand was seen to improve amid declining inventories. As such, Brent crude was inching towards the US$120 (about RM524.10) per barrel level.
Among the heavyweights, both Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and Public Bank Bhd slipped one sen to RM8.98 and RM4.61 respectively, IHH Healthcare Bhd lost five sen to RM6.55 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) slid three sen to RM9.22, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd rose six sen to RM10.04.
Of the actives, Green Packet Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd and Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd added half a sen each to 8.5 sen, 8.5 sen and 11.5 sen respectively, SDS Group Bhd increased 2.5 sen to 40.5 sen and Cnergenz Bhd gained one sen to 63.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 2.88 points higher at 11,014.0, the FBMT 100 Index went up 0.53 of a point to 10,708.21, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 4.19 points to 11,396.08, the FBM 70 rose 38.35 points to 13,136.19 and the FBM ACE gained 36.59 points to 5,183.29.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index improved 0.58 of a point to 199.99, while the Financial Services Index fell 2.41 points to 16,642 and the Plantation Index declined 18.95 points to 7,990.77.-BERNAMA