Bursa Malaysia's Key Index Opens Higher Before Easing Marginally
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s key index opened higher on Monday before easing marginally in early trade, amid continued buying interest following Wall Street’s stronger performance and easing US-China trade tensions, an analyst said.
At 9.10 am, the benchmark index eased 0.10 of-a-point, or 0.006 per cent, to 1,671.52 from Friday’s close of 1,671.62.
The index opened 0.93 of-a-point higher at 1,672.55.
Market breadth was negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 226 to 153. A total of 332 counters were unchanged, while 2,213 were untraded and 91 suspended.
Turnover stood at 209.81 million shares worth RM115.48 million.
Last Friday, China and the United States agreed on US$30 billion in reciprocal tariff reductions and the opening of a dialogue on artificial intelligence as part of an eight-point agreement reached following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington.
In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said market direction could also be influenced by the tabling of Budget 2027 on Oct 9, with investors likely to focus on potential beneficiaries within the construction, utilities, technology and consumer sectors.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank lost six sen to RM10.16, Public Bank rose one sen to RM4.81, CIMB was flat at RM7.90, Tenaga Nasional added two sen to RM13.16 and IHH Healthcare gained RM11 to RM8.14.
In active trade, ACE Market debutant Evocom fell four sen to 14 sen, Jaks Resources recovered one sen to 18 sen, Inari Amertron reduced 16 sen to RM2.50, Ekovest added one sen to 18.5 sen, and MYMBN was unchanged at 15.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Hong Leong Bank expanded 26 sen to RM23.40, Hong Leong Financial inched up 18 sen to RM18.90, Petronas Dagangan and APM Automotive firmed 14 sen to RM19.64 and RM2.84, respectively, and Petronas Gas was 10 sen higher to RM17.50.
United Plantations was the biggest loser, falling 26 sen to RM32.32. TSH Resources shed 12 sen to RM1.25, while UWC and SHH Resources both declined eight sen to RM6.80 and RM1.10, respectively. Sarawak Oil Palms inched down seven sen to RM5.66.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index retreated 64.35 points to 17,780.56, the FBM Emas Index eased 12.65 points to 12,443.98, the FBM Top 100 Index reduced 11.97 points to 12,231.49, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 12.70 points to 12,293.53, while the FBM ACE Index advanced 11.78 points to 5,544.64.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.20 of a point to 183.90, while the Energy Index gained 3.05 points to 864.88.
The Financial Services Index climbed 6.58 points to 19,557.07, while the Plantation Index shaved off 18.90 points to 9,315.97.
-- BERNAMA