BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS LOWER AMID WALL STREET'S MIXED PERFORMANCE

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s key index opened lower today amid Wall Street’s mixed performance overnight while US futures were marginally lower following Nvidia’s announcement which showed that its revenue forecast fell short of expectations, suggesting that its rapid growth may be nearing its limits. 

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) decreased by 1.60 points to 1,596.58, from yesterday’s close of 1,598.18.  

The benchmark index started the day 1.63 points higher at 1,599.81.  

However, the broader market was positive with gainers leading decliners 194 to 167, while 271 counters remained unchanged, 1,834 untraded, and 23 suspended.

Turnover stood at 164.23 million units valued at RM112.83 million.

On Nvidia, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the guidance fell short of expectations, as analysts were optimistic, but the company may not be able to deliver.

“Traders will continue to monitor several key events including the US existing home sales; initial jobless claims; and Eurozone consumer confidence index.

“As the year-end holiday season approaches, we remain bullish on the tourism and aviation industries, supported by the momentum in AirAsia X Bhd and Capital A Bhd,” it said. 

The brokerage said that the escalation of the Ukraine-Russia conflict may create opportunities in gold-related stocks, while a stronger US dollar, coupled with potential tariffs from the Trump administration, continues to favour export-oriented sectors such as technology and gloves.

“Additionally, we are optimistic about the construction, property, and building materials sectors, which may experience earnings momentum growth driven by data centre investments earlier this year,” it said. 

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 6.0 sen to RM10.18, CIMB perked up 3.0 sen to RM8.24, Tenaga Nasional eased 18.0 sen to RM14.12, IHH Healthcare was 2.0 sen lower at RM7.24, while Public Bank was flat at RM4.41.

As for the active stocks, MY E.G. Services added 2.0 sen to 90 sen, Perdana Petroleum inched up half-a-sen to 29 sen, Sealink International rose by 3.5 sen to 31 sen, Sarawak Cable put on 2.5 sen to 11.5 sen, but Reneuco slid half-a-sen to 4.5 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 19.86 points to 12,155.07, the FBM Emas Index declined 6.56 points to 12,159.32, the FBMT 100 Index narrowed 7.59 points to 11,859.21, while the FBM 70 Index ticked up 4.34 points to 17,980.99 and the FBM ACE Index was up by 4.38 points to 5,193.98.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased by 43.22 points to 19,066.46, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.62 of-a-point higher at 171.56, the Energy Index gave up 0.41 of-a-point to 828.50, and the Plantation Index shaved 33.57 points to 7,641.05.  

-- BERNAMA