Bursa Malaysia Opens Lower Amid Profit-Taking and Geopolitical Shift in US-Iran Talks

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23– Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Wednesday as investors took profits in selected heavyweights, paring recent gains amid ongoing diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran.

The early market performance on the local exchange also reflected a mixed trend on Wall Street, where tech-heavy buying pushed the Nasdaq to an intraday high.

At 9:10 AM, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 5.98 points, or 0.35 percent, to 1,677.52 from Tuesday’s close of 1,683.50.

The benchmark index had opened 1.31 points lower at 1,682.19.

Market breadth was nearly balanced in early trade, with decliners narrowly leading gainers 186 to 174, while 306 counters remained unchanged, 2,205 untraded, and 27 suspended.

Total trading volume stood at 227.52 million shares valued at RM119.54 million.

Geopolitical developments continued to influence global markets after US President Donald Trump stated on Tuesday that negotiations with Iran had gained momentum, raising hopes for a potential agreement while reiterating that military options against Iranian nuclear facilities remain available if necessary.

Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York during a meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Turkiye, Trump noted that oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz had increased significantly, expressing hope that the conflict could be resolved around the US midterm elections or earlier.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that progress in the US-Iran discussions helped ease global crude oil prices, providing minor relief to broader investor sentiment.

Benchmark Brent crude oil eased 0.08 percent to trade at US$99.17 per barrel during early trade.

On the domestic front, Thong highlighted that the FBM KLCI extended its recovery above the 1,680 mark on sustained bargain-hunting, despite the Bank of Japan’s recent 25-basis-point interest rate increase.

“Therefore, we expect buying interest to persist, buoyed by Brent crude oil prices trending at around US$98 per barrel. As such, we envisage the index to hover within the 1,680-1,700 range today,” Thong said.

Among heavyweights, Maybank rose 10 sen to RM10.22, while Tenaga Nasional gained six sen to RM13.16. Conversely, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare fell one sen each to RM4.83 and RM7.99, respectively, as CIMB slipped eight sen to RM7.82.

For actively traded stocks, Zetrix AI and Kinergy Advancement both shed half a sen to 20 sen and 40 sen, respectively. Aimax edged up half a sen to 1.5 sen, Capital A traded flat at 27 sen, and Sunway Healthcare dipped seven sen to RM2.10.

Top gainers included KESM Industries, which surged 26 sen to RM4.27, MISC, which advanced 13 sen to RM8.08, and Petronas Gas, which climbed 12 sen to RM17.40. Samaiden and Solarvest also recorded gains, rising seven sen and six sen to RM2.41 and RM3.76, respectively.

On the losing end, United Plantations dropped 24 sen to RM33.30, Hengyuan Refining lost 12 sen to RM4.18, while UWC, Vitrox, and Petron dropped eight sen each to RM6.58, RM9.92, and RM3.82.

Across key index boards, the FBM Mid 70 Index declined 29.90 points to 17,814.51, the FBM Emas Index slid 35.98 points to 12,478.15, and the FBM Top 100 Index shed 37.78 points to 12,270.10.

However, the FBM Emas Shariah Index edged up 1.01 points to 12,327.39, while the FBM ACE Index rose 10.21 points to 5,379.32.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index contracted 0.30 points to 184.60, the Energy Index slipped 2.74 points to 841.91, the Financial Services Index dropped 152.34 points to 19,582.34, and the Plantation Index lost 2.85 points to 9,453.16.

–NMT