Bursa Malaysia Opens Higher Before Slipping into Negative Territory Amid Early Profit-Taking

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 — Bursa Malaysia opened on a positive note on Thursday morning before edging into negative territory in early trading as investors took opportunity to lock in gains following recent market advances.

At 9:15 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.79 of a point to 1,747.38 compared with Wednesday’s close of 1,748.17. The key index had earlier opened 1.48 points higher at 1,749.65.

Market breadth across the broader market tilted negative as decliners outpaced advancers 218 to 179, while 356 counters remained unchanged, 1,990 untraded, and 12 suspended. Total trading volume stood at 233.76 million shares valued at RM119.06 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that the domestic market concluded higher on Wednesday as investor sentiment gained strength from easing geopolitical tensions, lower crude oil prices, and an improving global risk appetite.

“Continued buying in heavyweight stocks, coupled with Malaysia’s resilient economic outlook, is expected to support the local bourse today,” Thong said. “While some profit-taking may emerge following the recent gains, the broader market trend remains constructive. Hence, we expect the FBM KLCI to trade within the 1,740-1,760 range today.”

Overnight on Wall Street, US equities ended mixed following a strong rally as market participants evaluated corporate earnings reports from major firms, including SpaceX and AMD, while weighing remarks by US President Donald Trump indicating a potential agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached as early as Wednesday.

Among market heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd was unchanged at RM10.82, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd added one sen to RM8.02, and IHH Healthcare Bhd rose two sen to RM8.34, while Public Bank Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd slid two sen each to RM5.25 and RM14.64, respectively.

In active trading, JCY International Bhd gained three sen to 44 sen, Steel Hawk Bhd added half a sen to 18.5 sen, and Zetrix AI advanced 1.5 sen to 70.5 sen. Conversely, VS Industry Bhd slipped one sen to 23 sen, while Genetec Technology Bhd traded flat at 38 sen.

Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd led the top gainers, rising 50 sen to RM103.00, followed by Petronas Gas Bhd, which gained 16 sen to RM17.60. Theta Edge Bhd and Tradeplus Shariah Gold Tracker added 13 sen each to 68 sen and RM5.38, respectively, while Tong Herr Resources Bhd climbed seven sen to RM1.87.

On the losing end, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, ViTrox Corp Bhd, and KESM Industries Bhd led decliners, shedding eight sen each to RM46.86, RM9.02, and RM4.28, respectively. Kelington Group Bhd dropped six sen to RM8.69, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd lost five sen to RM4.47.

Across broader indices, the FBM Mid 70 Index fell 22.59 points to 18,255.37, the FBM ACE Index slipped 9.39 points to 5,029.87, the FBM Emas Index fell 8.51 points to 12,894.00, and the FBM Top 100 Index shed 8.31 points to 12,728.63, whereas the FBM Emas Shariah Index bucked the trend, gaining 4.87 points to 12,737.50.

Sectorwise, the Financial Services Index declined 21.43 points to 20,547.73, the Plantation Index lost 4.78 points to 9,505.92, the Energy Index eased 0.94 of a point to 763.29, and the Industrial Products and Services Index dipped 0.59 of a point to 189.65.

–NMT