Bursa Malaysia Remains Lower At Midday Amid External Headwinds
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained lower at midday, weighed by continued selling pressure amid heightened geopolitical tensions in West Asia, elevated crude oil prices and higher US Treasury yields.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 10.47 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 1,703.87 from Wednesday’s close of 1,714.34.
The benchmark index, which opened 1.64 points lower at 1,712.70, moved between 1,702.85 and 1,713.08 during the morning session.
Market breadth was also negative, with losers outpacing gainers 634 to 359. A total of 510 counters were unchanged, 1,328 untraded and 21 suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.13 billion units worth RM1.45 billion.
In a note, Apex Securities Bhd said the sharp and sustained rise in oil prices to US$101 per barrel would catch the market’s attention, underscoring the level at which escalating energy costs could trigger a more meaningful market reaction.
The stockbroking and financial services company said it remained cautious on near-term global risk appetite as the combination of rising US Treasury yields and surging oil prices created a fragile backdrop.
It said the disconnect between extreme equity optimism and elevated rate-hike expectations posed a risk of a sharper correction should either the oil or inflation picture deteriorate further.
On the FBM KLCI, Apex Securities said it stayed cautious on the local bourse in the near term as persistently elevated oil prices continue to cloud the inflation outlook.
“The sentiment is likely to remain guarded should higher energy costs translate into broader price pressures and raise the prospects of monetary tightening,” it said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank increased four sen to RM10.50, Public Bank added one sen to RM4.90, CIMB gained two sen to RM7.93, Tenaga Nasional slid six sen to RM13.68, and IHH Healthcare dropped nine sen to RM7.83.
Of the actively traded stocks, Zetrix AI fell 1.5 sen to 25.5 sen, Ni Hsin dropped four sen to 26 sen, Top Glove gained seven sen to 70 sen, HHRG trimmed 1.5 sen to 16 sen, and Supermax Corporation rose 4.5 sen to 39.5 sen.
The top gainers were led by United Plantations, which surged 74 sen to RM33.74, followed by Hengyuan Refining which ticked up 25 sen to RM3.41, while Malayan Cement jumped 14 sen to RM5.67, Kerjaya Prospek advanced 13 sen to RM3.41, and Ajinomoto bagged 12 sen to RM19.34.
Among the top losers, Nestle dropped 62 sen to RM92.38, Kuala Lumpur Kepong reduced 30 sen to RM22.60, Telekom lost 22 sen to RM7.96, Kelington slid 16 sen to RM8.49, and Bursa Malaysia dipped 14 sen to RM8.54.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index erased 28.76 points to 17,835.80 while the FBM ACE Index fell 13.42 points to 5,284.24.
The FBM Emas Index weakened 62.57 points to 12,618.44, the FBM Top 100 Index eased 62.12 points to 12,417.84, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 61.77 points to 12,445.13.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index shed 103.91 points to 19,943.64, the Plantation Index trimmed 27.60 points to 9,422.36, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.00 point to 187.06, but the Energy Index strengthened 2.24 points to 820.77.
-- BERNAMA