Bursa Malaysia Opens Lower as Wall Street Losses and Rising Crude Oil Prompt Profit-Taking

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 7 — Bursa Malaysia opened marginally lower on Friday as selective buying in heavyweights failed to offset profit-taking triggered by overnight losses on Wall Street and rising global crude oil prices.

At 9:15 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.47 of a point to 1,736.68 from Thursday’s close of 1,737.15. The index had opened 1.93 points lower at 1,735.22.

Market breadth turned negative early in the session, with decliners outpacing advancers 210 to 185, while 350 counters traded unchanged, 2,028 remained untraded, and 21 were suspended. Total turnover reached 318.39 million shares valued at RM202.37 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that Wall Street pulled back as crude oil prices rose to around US$82 per barrel following Iran’s publication of a restrictive draft plan concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

He added that investors are also maintaining a cautious stance ahead of the release of the United States non-farm payrolls (NFP) report for July later today.

“Back home, the FBM KLCI declined as selling from foreign funds gathered pace late in the session,” Thong said. “Selling was broad-based as traders may have decided to lock in profits after a solid performance recently.”

In light of current market conditions, Thong expects the benchmark index to trade within a range of 1,730 to 1,745 throughout the day.

Among banking and heavyweight stocks, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) slipped four sen to RM10.76, while Public Bank Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd fell five sen each to RM5.18 and RM7.92, respectively. IHH Healthcare Bhd shed three sen to RM8.30, whereas Tenaga Nasional Bhd gained 12 sen to RM14.60.

In active counters, Perak Transit Bhd added two sen to 19.5 sen, and Steel Hawk Bhd edged up half a sen to 14.5 sen. Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) traded unchanged at 34 sen, while TWL Holdings Bhd inched down half a sen to two sen.

Tong Herr Resources Bhd led the top gainers, surging 50 sen to RM2.40, while YTL Power International Bhd rose 16 sen to RM4.53. Tenaga Nasional Bhd climbed 12 sen to RM14.60, Sunway Bhd gained nine sen to RM5.22, and Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd advanced seven sen to RM8.06.

On the losing side, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd dropped 58 sen to RM47.08, United Plantations Bhd fell 48 sen to RM33.72, Pentamaster Corp Bhd trimmed 28 sen to RM5.43, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd declined 22 sen to RM21.38, and Petronas Dagangan Bhd reduced 12 sen to RM19.44.

Across broader market indices, the FBM Emas Index fell 6.39 points to 12,849.63, the FBM Top 100 Index shrank 7.19 points to 12,678.09, the FBM ACE Index eased 1.70 points to 5,036.05, and the FBM Mid 70 Index declined 26.29 points to 18,299.77. However, the FBM Emas Shariah Index bucked the trend, rising 9.22 points to 12,700.76.

Sectoral performance was mixed. The Financial Services Index dropped 80.15 points to 20,439.70 and the Plantation Index fell 19.81 points to 9,444.74. On the positive side, the Energy Index inched up 1.39 points to 763.80, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.77 of a point to 188.55.

–NMT