Bursa Malaysia opens lower as Wall Street weakness, US-Iran conflict weigh on sentiment

Bursa Malaysia started the trading day lower on Monday, mirroring the decline on Wall Street and the ongoing US-Iran conflict. The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 3.73 points, or 0.21 percent, to 1,701.79 from the previous close of 1,705.52. The index opened 0.23 points lower at 1,705.29. Market breadth was weak, with more stocks falling than rising, with 256 stocks in the red compared to 164 gainers.

A total of 295 counters remained unchanged, while 2,116 were untraded and 32 suspended. The turnover was 283.38 million shares valued at RM144.77 million. Analyst Thong Pak Leng noted that the index's performance mirrored the broader regional sell-off, with crude oil prices hitting new highs. The FBM KLCI finally dipped to the 1,700 mark as foreign selling increased, and analysts expect the index to remain in a correction mode, hovering between 1,700 and 1,710.

Among the top gainers were Top Glove, Luster Industries, Silver Ridge, Zetrix AI, and Supermax. The main losers were Sunway Construction, Vitrox, Malaysian Pacific Industries, Press Metal Aluminium, and Kelington.