Bursa Malaysia slips at open following Wall Street sell-off
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Monday, weighed down by Wall Street’s weaker performance last Friday, which dampened investor sentiment.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 8.24 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 1,607.36 from last Friday’s close of 1,615.60.
The benchmark index opened 2.39 points easier at 1,613.21.
Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 430 to 64, while 259 counters were unchanged, 1,970 untraded, and 11 suspended. Turnover stood at 216.60 million units worth RM98.99 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed sharply lower as disappointing Intel and Amazon earnings intensified concerns over the substantial capital expenditure required for artificial intelligence investments.
He said the US 10-year yield eased to approximately 4.93 per cent, while Brent crude surged to US$117.64 per barrel amid renewed West Asia supply concerns.
“For today, we envisage the benchmark index hovering within the 1,610-1,620 range, supported by selective bargain hunting in banking, plantation and defensive counters,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweight stocks, Maybank fell two sen to RM10, Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare were 10 sen lower at RM13.20 and RM7.75 respectively, while CIMB dropped seven sen to RM6.84. Public Bank increased two sen to RM4.77.
In active trade, Zetrix AI and Jaks Resources were half a sen lower at six sen and 14 sen, respectively, while Dagang Nexchange fell one sen to 42 sen. GIIB Holdings bagged 7.5 sen to 43.5 sen and Ni Hsin added 1.5 sen to 27.5 sen.
Manulife Holdings led the top gainers, gaining 11 sen to RM2.39, while Mega Fortris and Westports each added nine sen to RM2.31 and RM6.94 respectively, and Hap Seng Plantations rose seven sen to RM2.31.
Among the top losers, Nestle lost 70 sen to RM95.24, MPI decreased 58 sen to RM39.20, United Plantations reduced 30 sen to RM28.92, Vitrox dropped 28 sen to RM10.62 and Kluang Rubber trimmed 23 sen to RM6.30.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 67.17 points to 11,994.56, while the FBM Top 100 Index lost 65.06 points to 11,798.80.
The FBM Mid 70 Index sank 114.50 points to 17,306.19, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 81.33 points lower at 12,001.58, and the FBM ACE Index gave up 59.40 points to 5,344.51.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.99 of a point to 177.38, the Energy Index declined 5.53 points to 846.63, the Financial Services Index slipped 41.50 points to 18,506.49 and the Plantation Index slid 29.0 points to 8,668.42.
