BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS FLAT ON CONTINUED CAUTION AHEAD OF US ELECTION

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia tilted down in early trade on continued caution ahead of the US presidential election.

At 9.06 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 2.71 points to 1,612.37 from yesterday's close of 1,615.08. The benchmark index opened 0.18 of a point lower at 1,614.90.

Decliners beat gainers 159 to 134 while 231 counters were unchanged, 1,968 untraded, and 123 suspended.

Turnover totalled 130.90 million units valued at RM69.51 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended mixed overnight amid a choppy session as traders awaited tech giant Alphabet’s earnings, whose fiscal third-quarter (3Q) earnings beat analysts' forecasts, boosted by its cloud business. Results of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms are also due this week, while the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting is scheduled for next week.

“Back home, the FBM KLCI finally ended positively (yesterday), attributed to some bargain-hunting activities yesterday. Nonetheless, overall sentiment remains cautious as depicted by the low volume traded,” he noted. He said some plantation counters might be in the limelight after crude palm oil (CPO) prices trended at their year-to-date high, thus giving hope for a potential “blockbuster” fourth quarter.

“All said, we are hopeful the index will maintain its rebound and thus we expect it to hover within the 1,615-1,625 range today,” he added.

Among heavyweight counters, Tenaga Nasional lost 10 sen to RM13.96, SD Guthrie was one sen lower at RM4.70 and Maxis dropped five sen to RM3.75. HLFG traded ex-dividend today, gaining four sen to RM18.52 while Petronas Chemicals shed three sen to RM5.52.

Among active counters, Bahvest rose 1.5 sen to 84 sen, Niche Capital added 2.0 sen to 20.5 sen while Talam Transform, TWL and Silver Ridge were half-a-sen higher at 2.5 sen, 3.0 sen and 47.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 11.05 points to 12,168.90, the FBMT 100 Index lost 14.69 points to 11,874.64 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 19.89 points to 12,128.48.  The FBM 70 Index stepped back 2.45 points to 17,631.05 and the FBM ACE Index added 11.08 points to 5,043.36.

By sector, the Financial Services Index gained 4.13 points to 19,154.82, the Plantation Index dropped 11.25 points to 7,324.09 and the Energy Index dipped 2.45 points to 833.51. The Industrial Products and Services Index shaved 0.07 of a point to 174.88.

-- BERNAMA