BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS LOWER, TRACKING WEAKER REGIONAL SENTIMENT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, in line with weaker sentiment on the regional bourses due to emerging concerns over Middle East geopolitical tensions, according to an analyst.

At 9.15 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 11.68 points to 1,644.71 from Tuesday’s close of 1,656.39.

The benchmark index had initially opened 13.61 points lower at 1,642.78.

Across the broader market, decliners outpaced advancers, with 421 stocks declining versus 107 advancing, while 304 counters remained unchanged, 1,578 untraded, and eight suspended.

Turnover stood at 229.76 million units, valued at RM149.30 million.

In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it expected the overnight selling pressure on Wall Street may spill over to the local market, limiting gains in the near term.

“The US stocks declined, partly due to Iran’s missile attack on Israel, which contributed to the tensions in the Middle East. Key events traders will be monitoring include non-farm payrolls and unemployment claims.

“In October, we believe traders may focus on construction, property, and utilities sectors ahead of Malaysia’s Budget 2025 while keeping an eye on potential news about the KL-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project,” it said.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank shed 6.0 sen to RM10.48, Public Bank declined 5.0 sen to RM4.56, CIMB Group fell 10 sen to RM7.90, Tenaga Nasional went down 8.0 sen to RM14.32 while IHH Healthcare improved 4.0 sen to RM7.28.

Regarding the active counters, PA Resources added 1.5 sen to 34 sen, Capital A improved 1.0 sen to 99 sen, TWL Holdings earned half-a-sen to 3.0 sen, while Leong Hup was flat at 74.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased by 84.08 points to 12,310.88, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 74.75 points to 12,243.29.

The FBMT 100 Index fell 86.07 points to 12,000.89, the FBM 70 Index dropped 127.85 points to 17,405.04, and the FBM ACE Index slipped 51.05 points to 5,162.25.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index erased 145.48 points to 19,250.54, the Energy Index edged up 5.48 points to 848.08, the Plantation Index gave up 10.15 points to 7,179.14, and the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.12 points to 177.97.

-- BERNAMA