Bursa Malaysia Opens Higher Before Easing Marginally in Early Monday Trade

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 – Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index opened higher on Monday morning before easing marginally in early trade, supported by underlying buying interest following Wall Street’s positive session and easing US-China trade tensions.

At 9:10 AM, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged down 0.10 of a point to 1,671.52, compared to Friday’s close of 1,671.62. The key index had opened 0.93 of a point higher at 1,672.55.

Market sentiment was influenced by positive international developments over the weekend, where China and the United States agreed on $30 billion in reciprocal tariff reductions alongside a new dialogue framework on artificial intelligence following talks in Washington.

Market breadth opened negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 226 to 153, while 332 counters traded unchanged, 2,213 remained untraded, and 91 were suspended. Total turnover stood at 209.81 million shares valued at RM115.48 million.

Index Performance & Heavyweights

Among heavyweights:

• Maybank slipped 6 sen to RM10.16.
• Public Bank gained 1 sen to RM4.81.
• CIMB traded flat at RM7.90.
• Tenaga Nasional advanced 2 sen to RM13.16.
• IHH Healthcare rose 11 sen to RM8.14.

Top gainers on the broader market included Hong Leong Bank, which jumped 26 sen to RM23.40, and Hong Leong Financial Group, which added 18 sen to RM18.90. Petronas Dagangan and APM Automotive gained 14 sen each to RM19.64 and RM2.84, respectively, while Petronas Gas climbed 10 sen to RM17.50.

On the losing end, United Plantations led decliners, falling 26 sen to RM32.32. TSH Resources dropped 12 sen to RM1.25, while UWC and SHH Resources both lost 8 sen to RM6.80 and RM1.10, respectively. Sarawak Oil Palms shed 7 sen to RM5.66.

Active Stocks & Sector Indices

In active trading, ACE Market debutant Evocom fell 4 sen to 14 sen, Inari Amertron dropped 16 sen to RM2.50, Jaks Resources recovered 1 sen to 18 sen, Ekovest added 1 sen to 18.5 sen, and MYMBN traded unchanged at 15.5 sen.

Sectoral performance was mixed across major indices:

• The Financial Services Index accumulated 6.58 points to 19,557.07.
• The Energy Index rose 3.05 points to 864.88.
• The Industrial Products and Services Index dipped 0.20 of a point to 183.90.
• The Plantation Index erased 18.90 points to 9,315.97.

Across overall index boards, the FBM Emas Index dropped 12.65 points to 12,443.98, the FBM Top 100 Index fell 11.97 points to 12,231.49, the FBM Mid 70 Index lost 64.35 points to 17,780.56, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 12.70 points to 12,293.53. Conversely, the FBM ACE Index gained 11.78 points to 5,544.64.

–NMT