Bursa Malaysia Lower At Midday On Profit-taking
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower at the midday break amid persistent profit-taking and weaker risk appetite, while the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) is expected to face further volatility due to heightened external and domestic headwinds.
At 12.30 pm, the FBM KLCI eased 2.71 points to 1,712.08 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79.
The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14 and moved between 1,710.44 and 1,714.50 throughout the morning session.
The broader market was negative, with decliners outnumbering gainers 537 to 424, while 519 counters were unchanged, 1,319 untraded and 25 suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.59 billion units worth RM1.46 billion.
Apex Securities Sdn Bhd said the external headwinds include the sharp escalation in West Asia, which has pushed oil prices higher to around US$97 per barrel and threatens to reignite inflationary pressures just as markets had priced in a more dovish US Federal Reserve (Fed) policy path.
The risk of further military confrontation is also likely to keep volatility elevated in the near term.
The stockbroking firm said the FBM KLCI is expected to remain range-bound in the short term as investors balance supportive domestic factors against lingering external uncertainties, with attention focused on developments in West Asia.
It said investors would also be guided by global bond yield movements and upcoming US inflation data for further clues on the Fed’s policy direction.
“We remain cautious despite Monday's positive close, given elevated crude oil prices and rising US Treasury yields, which could keep inflationary pressures elevated and weigh on risk appetite,” it said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank shed 2.0 sen to RM10.56, Public Bank was flat at RM5.00, CIMB eased 3.0 sen to RM7.97, Tenaga gained 4.0 sen to RM13.88, and IHH Healthcare dropped 7.0 sen to RM7.83.
Among actives, Zetrix AI rose 4.0 sen to 31 sen, ACE-Market debutant GTA Holdings slipped half-a-sen to 34.5 sen, Cuscapi added 1.5 sen to 6.0 sen, HHRG lost 1.5 sen to 19 sen, and Jaks Resources was flat at 12.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, United Plantations garnered 86 sen to RM33.06, Nestle improved 42 sen to RM94.32, ITMAX put on 19 sen to RM4.44, Petronas Dagangan advanced 18 sen to RM19.90, and Sarawak Oil Palms increased 16 sen to RM19.06.
Top losers were led by Malaysian Pacific Industries which erased 38 sen to RM39.44, Malayan Cement declined 27 sen to RM5.76, Petronas Gas and Hong Leong Industries both fell 24 sen to RM17.46 and RM17.16 respectively, and Sunway gave up 11 sen to RM4.85.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index was 9.79 points higher at 17,786.65 and the FBM ACE Index grew 12.69 points to 5,271.00.
The FBM Emas Index trimmed 10.35 points to 12,650.14, the FBM Top 100 Index shaved off 13.03 points to 12,454.02, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index perked up 4.45 points to 12,414.98.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dipped 34.60 points to 20,154.14 while the Plantation Index advanced 33.88 points to 9,422.56.
The Industrial Products and Services Index slid 0.23 of a point to 186.73 and the Energy Index eased 1.67 points to 807.54.
-- BERNAMA