Bursa Malaysia opens lower, tracking Wall Street

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower in early trade today, taking the cue from the downbeat performance on Wall Street overnight, after several key Federal Reserve officials reiterated the requirement for further aggressive rate hikes to combat inflation.

At 9.06 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 5.62 points to 1,480.92 from 1,486.54 last Friday.

The market bellwether opened 2.77 points easier at 1,483.77.

Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries were closed yesterday in conjunction with the special public holiday announced by the 10th Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday last week.

There were 152 gainers and 191 losers on the broader market, while 249 counters were unchanged, 1,666 untraded, and 67 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 272.64 million units worth RM89.85 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd in a research note today said the global stock markets started the week largely on a weaker note as protest over China's strict COVID-19 restriction stoked worries over the global financial recovery.

"The local bourse may follow suit (weaker global trend) as buying momentum may slow down while focusing on the ongoing corporate earnings season.

"Meanwhile, investors will (keep a close) watch the formation of the cabinet in the near future as well as the re-tabling of Budget 2023," the stockbroking firm said.

Among heavyweights, Maybank fell one sen to RM8.66, Public Bank eased four sen to RM4.48, Petronas Chemicals dropped 20 sen to RM8.88, IHH Healthcare slid three sen to RM5.97, while CIMB gained six sen to RM5.86 and Tenaga perked up seven sen to RM8.85.

Among the actives, MMAG and Ta Win were flat at three sen and seven sen respectively, Advance Synergy declined one sen to 19.5 sen, while MQ Technology rose one sen to five sen, and Eden added half-a-sen to 14.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 34.40 points to 10,542.39, the FBMT 100 Index fell 36.21 points to 10,263.48, the FBM ACE dipped 15.75 points to 5,175.89, the FBM 70 went down 33.32 points to 12,605.03 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 33.97 points to 10,653.65.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gave up 29.79 points to 16,669.37 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 1.47 points to 183.89, while the Plantation Index lost 7.01 points to 6,810.14, and the Energy Index trimmed 9.52 points to 749.57.

-- BERNAMA