Bursa Malaysia Opens Higher, Retreats Amid Cautious Sentiment
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Tuesday but subsequently retreated as investors remained cautious amid persistent uncertainties in global markets, an analyst said.
At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 2.58 points to 1,723.15 from Monday’s close of 1,725.73.
The benchmark index opened 0.21 point higher at 1,725.94.
However, market breadth was positive, with gainers outpacing losers by 236 to 95, while 305 counters were unchanged, 2,100 were untraded and 16 suspended.
Turnover stood at 134.14 million shares valued at RM99.45 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed sharply higher on Monday as easing US-Iran tensions lifted market sentiment, driving oil prices and Treasury yields lower ahead of a busy week of corporate earnings and key economic data.
Back home, he said the FBM KLCI rebounded into positive territory yesterday, following late buying in selected heavyweight stocks.
“While the local market continues to receive support from selective bargain hunting, we maintain a cautious stance amid persistent uncertainties in global markets.
“As such, we expect the FBM KLCI to trade within the 1,720 to 1,730 range today,” he said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank edged down four sen to RM10.80, Public Bank was one sen lower to RM5.19, CIMB Group inched down three sen to RM7.98, while Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM14.50 and RM8.30, respectively.
Among active stocks, NationGate Holdings rose three sen to RM1.26, GIIB Holdings inched up one sen to 45 sen, Kinergy Advancement stood at 41.5 sen, MAG Holdings and NexG were half-a-sen higher each at 16.5 sen and 28 sen, respectively.
Leading gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which climbed 66 sen to RM46.68, Vitrox Corporation added 23 sen to RM8.93, Kelington Group rose 20 sen to RM8.40, Sunway Construction gained 13 sen to RM7.88 and UWC increased 10 sen to RM6.45.
On the losers' list, United Plantations fell RM1.16 to RM33.04, QL Resources declined nine sen to RM4.04, Time Dotcom lost five sen to RM5.95, RHB Bank and Maxis decreased four sen each to RM8.62 and RM3.62, respectively.
Among the broader indices, the FBM Mid 70 Index climbed 22.10 points to 18,132.62, the FBM Emas Shariah Index perked up 2.06 points to 12,559.43, and the FBM ACE Index advanced 29.29 points to 5,010.61.
However, the FBM Emas Index fell 7.42 points to 12,745.0 and the FBM Top 100 Index lost 10.17 points to 12,575.03.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.43 points to 187.73 and the Energy Index slid 2.44 points to 761.45, while the Financial Services Index fell 43.39 points to 20,394.80 and the Plantation Index slipped 43.57 points to 9,261.48.
-- BERNAMA