Bursa Malaysia opens lower on profit-taking

On Monday, Bursa Malaysia began trading at a lower level as profit-taking occurred following a positive trend in earlier sessions. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index, which serves as the benchmark, fell by 2.45 points to 1,724.94, compared to last Friday's close of 1,727.39. For a brief moment, the index opened 0.45 of a point higher at 1,726.94.

Despite the decline, market breadth remained positive, as more stocks increased in value (149) than decreased (133). Additionally, 348 counters remained unchanged, while 2,215 were untraded and 27 were suspended. The total turnover amounted to 135.93 million shares worth RM60.92 million. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd noted that traders are currently uncertain whether to celebrate weak July retail sales data or anticipate a possible interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, both of which indicate waning consumer confidence.

The market sentiment appears cautious, suggesting that the index may fluctuate within the 1,725-1,735 range on that day. Among the prominent companies, Maybank and Public Bank remained flat at RM10.60 and RM5.13, respectively, while IHH Healthcare increased by four sen to RM8.24, but CIMB Group dropped by ten sen to RM7.85, and Tenaga Nasional decreased by six sen to RM14.42.

In terms of individual stocks, JAKS Resources rose by one sen to 11.5 sen, Oppstar, ES Sunlogy, and 3REN each went up by 1.5 sen to 75 sen, 41.5 sen, and 45 sen, respectively, while YGL Convergence increased by half a sen to 13.5 sen. Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which saw a ten sen increase to RM47.60, MISC rose by eight sen to RM8.18, Petronas Chemicals Group gained by five sen to RM4.55, UWC and Frontken both advanced by four sen to RM6.74 and RM5.29, respectively.

On the flip side, Petronas Gas declined by twelve sen to RM17.30, and Riverview Rubber Estates fell by eleven sen to RM2.97. APM Automotive Holdings, RHB, and Stratus Global Holdings experienced a five sen drop each to RM2.76, RM8.60, and RM2.85, respectively. The FBM ACE Index added 9.17 points to 5,303.95, the FBM 70 Index went up by 36.82 points to 18,330.01, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed by 10.71 points to 12,639.94.

Conversely, the FBM Emas Index decreased by 6.87 points to 12,808.57, and the FBMT 100 Index fell by 6.91 points to 12,619.35. Sectors-wise, the Plantation Index climbed 10.97 points to 9,338.38, while the Industrial Products and Services Index increased by 0.41 points to 187.64. However, the Energy Index fell by 2.17 points to 777.29, and the Financial Services Index dropped by 59.33 points to 20,276.70.