BURSA MALAYSIA SLIPS IN EARLY TRADE ON WALL STREET CUES, CAUTIOUS SENTIMENT

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia was lower in early trade today, tracking Wall Street’s overnight losses amid cautious sentiment among investors.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 2.78 points to 1,483.65 from Tuesday’s close of 1,486.43.

The benchmark index opened slightly higher, 0.02 of-a-point, at 1,486.45.

The broader market was negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 169 to 110. A total of 231 counters were unchanged, 1,888 untraded, and nine suspended.

Turnover stood at 144.81 million shares worth RM62.69 million.

Overnight, Wall Street saw the S&P 500 decrease by 0.17 per cent to 5,396.63, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decline by 0.38 per cent to 40,368.96, and the NASDAQ Composite ease by 0.05 per cent to 16,823.17.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed lower overnight despite a strong opening as investors turned cautious amid renewed uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's tariff policy.

“Many market participants now anticipate that the prevailing trade-related instability may persist indefinitely.

“The US 10-year Treasury yield eased slightly to 4.34 per cent, reflecting some flight-to-safety positioning,” he told Bernama.

On the domestic front, Thong said sentiment may receive a boost from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Malaysia, which could rekindle optimism over economic cooperation and investment flows.

“As such, the benchmark index is expected to trade within the 1,480-1,500 range today,” he added.

Among the heavyweights, IHH Healthcare climbed 4.0 sen to RM6.85, Maybank rose 1.0 sen to RM9.95, while CIMB Group and Tenaga Nasional declined 2.0 sen each to RM6.68 and RM13.42.

Meanwhile, Public Bank was flat at RM4.31.

Among the actives, Revenue Group and Elridge Energy rose 1.0 sen to 10 sen and 56.5 sen, respectively, and Dataprep Holdings added half-a-sen to 16 sen.

Pertama Digital and Avangaad were flat at 13 sen and 28.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM ACE Index increased 11.59 points to 4,549.35.

Meanwhile, the FBM Emas Index slipped 26.89 points to 11,012.32, the FBMT 100 Index shed 26.89 points to 10,796.74, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 35.32 points to 10,818.38, and the FBM 70 Index tumbled 65.10 points to 15,485.15.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 7.69 points to 17,819.67, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.97 of-a-point to 144.31, the Energy Index dropped 3.20 points to 651.68, and the Plantation Index fell 20.96 points to 7,184.93.

-- BERNAMA