BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS LOWER AMID CONCERNS OF WEAKENING US ECONOMY

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia continued its downward trend, opening lower on Tuesday, as Wall Street experienced a steep decline.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said this drop followed growing concerns about a weakening US economy, which were further fuelled by US President Donald Trump’s hawkish remarks over the weekend.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 13.67 points to 1,522.79 from yesterday’s close of 1,536.46. The benchmark index opened 10.45 points lower at 1,526.01.  

On the broader market, decliners thumped advancers 548 to 53, with 199 counters unchanged, 1,574 untraded and seven suspended.  

Turnover stood at 290.13 million shares worth RM167.47 million.

Thong said that as a result, the chance of more rate cuts may be in the offing to three times this year as the US 10-year yield slid to 4.219 per cent.

On the domestic front, he anticipated a quick rebound from the previous session, but it did not materialise.

Instead, the index faced continued pressure from persistent selling, closing around the 1,535 level, marking a fresh year-to-date low. This was further exacerbated by widespread regional weaknesses.

“Nonetheless, we are adamant that a quick rebound should occur anytime soon and expect the index to hover within the 1,535-1,550 range today,” he said.

Among heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional slid 14 sen to RM13.40, Public Bank declined four sen to RM4.51, Sunway was 12 sen weaker at RM4.45 and CIMB depreciated six sen to RM7.46, while Press Metal eased seven sen to RM4.95.

As for actives, Sapura and Velesto were flat at 3.5 sen and 15.5 sen respectively, Nationgate gave up seven sen to RM1.07 and MYEG went down 2.5 sen to 88 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index trimmed 130.77 points to 11,282.33, the FBMT 100 Index was 120.75 points lower to 11,077.08, the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 150.23 points to 10,878.0, the FBM 70 Index dipped 258.41 points to 15,867.58, and the FBM ACE Index trimmed 70.06 points to 4,452.28. 

By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 2.61 points to 151.04, the Energy Index shaved 14.96 points to 693.07, the Financial Services Index dwindled 131.72 points to 18,836.72, and the Plantation Index slipped 48.79 points to 7,369.92.  

-- BERNAMA