Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index fell 0.7% in early trade, tracking Wall Street’s decline amid cautious sentiment and a lack of fresh market drivers.
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia began the new trading year on a lower note, mirroring weaker overnight cues from Wall Street amid cautious sentiment.
At 9.06 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI fell 11.69 points, or 0.7%, to 1,668.42 from Wednesday’s close of 1,680.11.
Market breadth was negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 165 to 75.
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Turnover stood at 64.99 million shares valued at RM35.60 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended weaker on Wednesday due to year-end profit-taking.
He noted the FBM KLCI might still see support from local institutional buying despite recent foreign fund outflows.
“We believe the local bourse is poised for more upside as the rebalancing of foreign funds is still ongoing,” Thong told Bernama.
He expects the index to trade within the 1,675 to 1,690 range today.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank fell six sen to RM10.42 and CIMB lost 15 sen to RM8.10.
Public Bank eased seven sen to RM4.47, Tenaga Nasional dropped four sen to RM13.68, and IHH Healthcare slid 10 sen to RM8.65.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index shed 63.43 points to 12,240.24.
The Financial Services Index slid 149.98 points to 19,553.37, and the Plantation Index lost 35.31 points to 8,289.58. – Bernama
