Bursa opens lower, extending last week’s losses

Bursa Malaysia commenced trading at a lower level on Monday, continuing the decline observed last week, according to an analyst. At 9:15 am, the key FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index slipped 1.11 points, or 0.06%, to 1,685.63, down from Friday's closing figure of 1,686.74. The index initially opened 0.09 points below the previous close at 1,686.65.

Market participation was limited, as more stocks declined than rose, with losers surpassing gainers by a ratio of 322 to 200. Out of the 365 listed counters, 338 remained unchanged, 1,980 shares were untraded, and 26 were suspended. The trading volume amounted to 328.99 million shares valued at RM160.49 million. MBSB Investment Bank Bhd reported that foreign investors maintained their net selling positions for the fourth consecutive week across eight Asian markets, resulting in a total outflow of US$4.52 billion.

Thailand was the only market to register net inflows. South Korea, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines were the primary contributors to net outflows. Among the major players, Public Bank and CIMB each fell by one sen to RM4.79 and RM7.78, respectively. Maybank increased by four sen to RM10.42, while IHH Healthcare climbed by 10 sen to RM7.75.

Tenaga Nasional remained flat at RM13.60. Top active stocks, Zetrix AI and Luster Industries, saw no change, remaining at 25 sen and 35 sen, respectively. United Asiapac Energy dropped one sen to 34 sen, AHB gained half a sen to six sen, and Top Glove rose 1.5 sen to 81.5 sen. Nestle was the top gainers, increasing by 94 sen to RM92.94.

Hong Leong Bank climbed 18 sen to RM23.26, Naim gained 14 sen to 83.5 sen, Citaglobal rose 12 sen to RM1.18, and Petronas Chemicals ascended 11 sen to RM5.20. The top decliners included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which dropped 46 sen to RM40.24, UMS Integration fell 26 sen to RM8.04, Chin Teck Plantations decreased by 14 sen to RM10.26, while United Plantations and Sunway Construction each slipped 10 sen to RM33 and RM7.30, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index fell 24.35 points to 17,704.29, the FBM ACE Index dropped 29.55 points to 5,230.68, the FBM Emas Index declined 8.64 points to 12,501.56, the FBM Top 100 Index slipped 10.30 points to 12,295.34, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 3.77 points to 12,393.04. Industrials and Services Index rose slightly by 0.21 points to 188.99, while the Energy Index gained 3.18 points to 817.61.

The Financial Services Index dropped 4.89 points to 19,617.32, and the Plantation Index reduced 33.43 points to 9,402.58.