BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS LOWER, TRACKING WALL ST DECLINE

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, tracking Wall Street’s overnight decline as uncertainty over United States (US) tariffs spurred selling.  

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 5.45 points to 1,553.46 from yesterday’s close of 1,558.91.  

The benchmark index opened 3.16 points lower at 1,555.75.  

On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 234 to 105, with 193 counters unchanged, 1,838 untraded and 14 suspended.  

Turnover stood at 156.06 million shares worth RM79.04 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said Wall Street turned negative again after volatile swings driven by tariff concerns on Mexico and Canada.  

It said the US announced a one-month delay on 25 per cent duties for Mexican goods that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, while Canada was expected to receive a similar exemption.  This prompted investors to stay on the sidelines until trade policies became clearer.  

“Investors will also look at the non-farm payrolls and unemployment rate later today,” it said.  

Among heavyweights, CIMB perked up by five sen to RM7.55, IHH Healthcare was four sen higher at RM7.40, Tenaga Nasional went down four sen to RM13.82, while Maybank and Public Bank were flat at RM10.56 and RM4.59, respectively.

As for actives, NexG and Euro Holdings inched down half a sen to 26 sen and five sen, respectively, NationGate lost six sen to RM1.36, while TWL Holdings and Harvest Miracle Capital were flat at 2.5 sen and 13 sen.  

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index erased 36.96 points to 11,566.38, the FBMT 100 Index weakened 35.62 points to 11,344.68, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 54.84 points to 11,245.09, the FBM 70 Index slipped 35.12 points to 16,429.30, and the FBM ACE Index trimmed 15.29 points to 4,581.56.  

By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.09 points to 155.56, the Energy Index gained 1.03 points to 724.63, the Financial Services Index slid 13.08 points to 19,060.39, and the Plantation Index fell 33.92 points to 7,532.94.  

-- BERNAMA