BURSA MALAYSIA GIVES UP EARLY GAINS AMID WEAK SENTIMENT

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher, tracking Wall Street’s strong overnight performance, but retreated soon after due to a lack of fresh catalysts.

At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 1.93 points to 1,503.52 from Friday’s close of 1,505.45. The benchmark index opened 1.05 points higher at 1,506.50.

On the broader market, decliners surpassed gainers 151 to 100, with 248 counters unchanged, 1,927 untraded, and 19 suspended.

Turnover stood at 106.07 million shares worth RM43.71 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed marginally higher on a “quadruple witching day” last Friday when stock and index options, along with index and single stock futures, expire.

“Although all three major indices rebounded from their intraday lows, trading remained choppy as sentiment stayed cautious amid tariff uncertainties. Meanwhile, the United States 10-year Treasury yield edged up to 4.25 per cent,” he told Bernama.

On the local front, the FBM KLCI managed to close in positive territory, but the market undertone remained fragile, with continued foreign fund outflows.

“While early buying support was observed, it faded as foreign selling intensified. Moving forward, we expect the index to hover within the 1,500–1,510 range today,” he added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 2.0 sen to RM10.20, and IHH Healthcare advanced 12.0 sen to RM7.02.

On the other hand, CIMB Group and Public Bank slipped 2.0 sen each to RM6.83 and RM4.47, and Tenaga Nasional eased 4.0 sen to RM13.52.

Among the actives, Saliran Group added 1.0 sen to 26.5 sen, and MMAG Holdings gained half-a-sen to 78.5 sen. 

Kanger International slid half-a-sen to 3.5 sen, and ES Sunlogy sank 2.0 to 26.0 sen while Sapura Energy was flat at 4.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM ACE Index decreased 6.57 points to 4,818.07, the FBM 70 Index fell 32.50 points to 16,255.50, the FBM Emas Index dropped 10.90 points to 11,294.80.

The FBMT 100 Index declined 16.30 points to 11,045.08, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 3.03 points to 11,024.14.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index added 3.79 points to 755.59, while the Financial Services Index fell 36.51 points to 18,403.32, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.11 of-a-point to 153.32, and the Plantation Index down 4.51 points to 7,445.42.

-- BERNAMA