Bursa Malaysia Opens Lower, Tracking Wall Street’s Decline

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, tracking Wall Street’s overnight decline as trade war concerns intensified after the United States (US) confirmed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.  

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 10.84 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 1,560.55 from yesterday’s close of 1,571.39. The benchmark index opened 9.69 points lower at 1,561.70.  

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On the broader market, decliners outpaced advancers 449 to 60, with 215 counters unchanged, 1,607 untraded, and six suspended. 

Turnover stood at 265.06 million shares worth RM150.21 million.  

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the imposition of tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China took effect today.  

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“Meanwhile, the latest data from the manufacturing and construction sectors indicate a weakening US economy, leading to a decline in the US 10-year yield to 4.159 per cent,” he told Bernama.  

In Hong Kong, he said the Hang Seng Index improved but remained off the day’s high as investors stayed cautious amid heightened market volatility.  

“Nonetheless, China’s improving purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for February lifted market sentiment,” he added.  

At home, Thong said the local bourse’s lacklustre performance yesterday suggests the index will hover within the 1,565-1,575 range today.  

Among heavyweights, Maybank eased 4.0 sen to RM10.64, Public Bank slipped 1.0 sen to RM4.55, and Tenaga Nasional lost 10 sen to RM13.60. CIMB and IHH Healthcare were unchanged at RM8.00 and RM7.42, respectively.  

As for actives, Silver Ridge edged up half-a-sen to 56.5 sen, Ingenieur Gudang dipped half-a-sen to 3.0 sen, Genting Malaysia slid 8.0 sen to RM1.82, and Leong Hup International fell 1.0 sen to 64 sen. TWL Holdings was unchanged at 2.5 sen.  

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 103.26 points to 11,608.63, the FBMT 100 Index narrowed 99.55 points to 11,379.82, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 122.51 points to 11,225.52, the FBM 70 Index lost 225.59 points to 16,413.79, and the FBM ACE Index slipped 55.31 points to 4,636.76.  

By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index fell 2.22 points to 154.31, the Energy Index weakened 6.75 points to 748.80, the Financial Services Index dropped 89.83 points to 19,294.20, and the Plantation Index slipped 35.48 points to 7,484.21.  

Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia said in a filing today that trading in securities related to Nationgate was halted from 9.00 am and will resume at 10.00 am. 

-- BERNAMA