FBM KLCI OPENS LOWER ON CAUTIOUS MODE

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower on mild profit-taking after Wall Street’s mixed close, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of next week’s interest rate decision by the United States Federal Reserve (Fed).

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.70 points to 1,618.37 from Thursday’s close of 1,621.07.

The index had opened 0.37 of a point lower at 1,620.70.

The broader market was negative, with 169 losers outweighing 143 gainers. A further 263 counters were unchanged, 2,169 remained untraded, and 18 were suspended.

Turnover stood at 150.10 million shares worth RM65.15 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee Shen Pin said that clear signs of the US labour market softening have increased expectations of a 25-basis-point cut.

“Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield edged higher at 4.10 per cent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rebounded towards the 26,000 level as confidence grew of a Fed rate cut amid a weak job market data in the US,” he said in a note today. 

Yee highlighted that the FBM KLCI maintained its intermittent correction to end marginally lower at just above the 1,620 mark.

“Market sentiment remains cautious as traders were mostly sidelined. Nonetheless, we believe the improving ringgit at 4.11 against the US dollar at yesterday’s close should act as a catalyst for foreign fund inflows going forward.

“For today, we expect the index to trend between the 1,620 and 1,630 range,” he added. 

Among the heavyweights, CIMB perked up 1.0 sen to RM7.93, Tenaga Nasional added 6.0 sen to RM12.56, Maybank fell 4.0 sen to RM10.20, Public Bank slid 2.0 sen to RM4.37, while IHH Healthcare was flat at RM8.31.

On the most active list, V.S. Industry gained 2.0 sen to 48 sen, Omesti inched up half-a-sen to 7.0 sen, Main Market debutant Geohan Corporation slipped 1.0 sen to 54 sen, while Velesto Energy and TWL Holdings were flat at 24.5 sen and 2.5 sen, respectively.

Top gainers Life Water and Petronas Dagangan gained 12 sen each to RM1.56 and RM19.94, respectively. Southern Acids appreciated 20 sen to RM3.20, Petronas Gas rose 8.0 sen to RM17.38, and Tenaga Nasional strengthened 6.0 sen to RM12.56. 

Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries slipped 28 sen to RM31.80, Dutch Lady Milk Industries shrank 20 sen to RM31.90, and Kuala Lumpur Kepong decreased 10 sen to RM19.10. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 15.60 points to 11,816.08, the FBMT 100 Index gave up 18.02 points to 11,754.98, the FBM Mid 70 Index trimmed by 18.59 points to 16,728.33, the FBM ACE Index reduced 20.63 points to 4,806.0, and the FBM Emas Index weakened 16.99 points to 11,974.20.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index rose 0.08 of-a-point to 758.14, the Financial Services Index fell 31.39 points to 19,016.63, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.20 of-a-point to 166.09, and the Plantation Index declined 11.71 points to 8,099.61.

-- BERNAMA