BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS LOWER, TRACKING WALL STREET LOSSES

KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower in early trade, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.  

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 6.11 points to 1,529.62 from Thursday’s close of 1,535.73. The benchmark index had opened 4.16 points lower at 1,531.57.  

Decliners outpaced gainers 206 to 132, while 204 counters were unchanged, 1,930 untraded, and 133 suspended.  

Turnover stood at 151.68 million shares worth RM106.25 million.  

ActivTrade trader Anderson Alves said Asian equities were likely to trade sideways on Friday as investors awaited clarity on upcoming US tariffs ahead of April 2, 2025.  

“That’s when significant levies are set to take effect across multiple countries, with additional measures expected,” he said.  

US President Donald Trump recently announced a 25 per cent tariff on all foreign-manufactured automobiles starting that date, prompting caution ahead of what some investors are calling ‘Liberation Day’—when further details on potential White House actions are anticipated.  

However, Alves said Trump had since signalled that reciprocal tariffs might be “more lenient” than previously suggested, easing some investor concerns and supporting a cautiously positive market sentiment.  

Among heavyweights, Maybank added 4.0 sen to RM10.40, while CIMB Group fell 4.0 sen to RM7.09 and Tenaga Nasional declined 10.0 sen to RM13.46.  

Public Bank and IHH Healthcare eased 1.0 sen each to RM4.48 and RM6.90, respectively.  

Among actives, Main Market debutant HI Mobility advanced 5.0 sen to RM1.27, InNature added 1.5 sen to 21 sen, while Minox International and Sapura Energy inched up half a sen each to 25 sen and 5 sen.  

NEXG was flat at 25.5 sen.  

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 39.41 points to 11,456.78, the FBMT 100 Index fell 42.14 points to 11,215.41, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 55.12 points to 11,193.03.  

The FBM 70 Index lost 51.40 points to 16,421.43, while the FBM ACE Index declined 16.50 points to 4,740.89.  

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index eased 6.18 points to 18,665.56, the Industrial Products and Services Index trimmed 0.53 of-a-point to 154.45, and the Energy Index dipped 0.44 of-a-point to 758.99.  

The Plantation Index, however, edged up 1.13 points to 7,442.44.  

-- BERNAMA