Bursa Malaysia posts modest gain amid geopolitical and oil price concerns

Bursa Malaysia's key index, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, showed a modest increase of 1.11 per cent on September 17, recovering from a 1.11 per cent decline on Tuesday. The index opened 1.71 points lower at 1,677.50 but climbed to 1,680.21 by 9.19 am. Market breadth was negative with more stocks falling than rising, with 309 counters down and 241 up.

A total of 346 stocks closed unchanged, while 1,960 shares were untraded, and 13 were suspended. Turnover reached 390.15 million shares worth RM 201.32 million. Despite the bounce, geopolitical risks and high oil prices continue to pose challenges, according to Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's equity research vice-president, Thong Pak Leng.

He anticipates the index to range between 1,670 and 1,690 points. Among the key stocks, Maybank rose two sen to RM10.44, Public Bank increased three sen to RM4.83, CIMB dropped one sen to RM7.79, and Tenaga Nasional climbed two sen to RM13.34. Top gainers included Nestle, which rose 22 sen to RM90.40, MN Holdings' warrant gained 14 sen to RM3.52, YTL Power and UMS Integrated both gained 12 sen to RM5.63 and RM8.11, respectively, while Sam Engineering and UWC both increased one sen to RM4.12 and RM8.11, respectively.

Notable losers included Malaysia Pacific Industries, which fell 56 sen to RM39.14, Petronas Chemicals decreased 20 sen to RM5.00, Panasonic and Genting Plantations each fell 15 sen to RM5.41 and RM5.49, and Sunway Constructions declined 14 sen to RM6.94. Sector-wise, Industrial Products and Services Index dropped 1.42 points to 184.98, Energy Index slipped 2.29 points to 819.09, while Financial Services Index climbed 19.52 points to 19,666.92 and Plantation Index declined 37.06 points to 9,489.14.