Bursa Malaysia slips at open following Wall Street sell-off

Bursa Malaysia's market opened lower on Monday, influenced by Wall Street's weaker performance the previous Friday. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index dropped 8.24 points, or 0.51%, to 1,607.36 from a close of 1,615.60 on last Friday. The benchmark index initially opened 2.39 points lower at 1,613.21. In the broader market, the number of stocks that fell outnumbered those that rose by 430 to 64, with 259 unchanged, 1,970 untraded, and 11 suspended.

The trading volume reached 216.60 million units, valued at RM98.99 million. Thong Pak Leng, vice-president of equity research at Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, explained that the US 10-year yield fell to around 4.93%, while Brent crude prices surged to US$117.64 per barrel due to renewed Middle East supply concerns. He anticipates the benchmark index to remain within the 1,610–1,620 range for the day, supported by selective bargain hunting in banking, plantation, and defensive sectors.

Heavyweights like Maybank, Tenaga Nasional, IHH Healthcare, and CIMB all saw declines, while Public Bank increased by two sen to RM4.77. Among the active trades, Zetrix AI and Jaks Resources fell slightly, while Dagang Nexchange decreased by one sen to 42 sen. Some stocks, including GIIB Holdings and Ni Hsin, managed to gain, while others, such as Nestle, MPI, United Plantations, Vitrox, and Kluang Rubber, recorded losses.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index, Energy Index, Financial Services Index, and Plantation Index all experienced minor declines.