BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS LOWER ON MILD PROFIT-TAKING, WEAK REGIONAL MARKETS

KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia reversed its recent gains to open lower today, driven by mild profit-taking activities and a downbeat performance in regional markets.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 0.09 per cent or 1.56 points to 1,615.19, from Thursday's close of 1,616.75.

The benchmark index opened 0.99 of-a-point lower at 1,615.76.

On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 208 to 158, with 363 counters unchanged, 1,674 untraded and six suspended.

Turnover stood at 233.06 million units worth RM105.11 million.

In a research note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said traders remain bullish, rotating towards more defensive healthcare stocks, seeing potential opportunities. 

“We believe the ongoing catalyst of data centre investments, coupled with the potential announcement of the Kuala Lumpur–Singapore high-speed rail in the second half of 2024, will boost the construction, property, building materials, and utilities sectors.

“Additionally, technology stocks will be a long-term theme with the rising adoption of AI and cloud services,” it said.

Meanwhile, the brokerage firm noted that US markets were closed for the Independence Day public holiday. 

Traders will be monitoring data such as average hourly earnings, non-farm employment change, and unemployment rate, which will influence future US Federal Reserve decisions.

Bursa heavyweight stocks saw mixed performances: Maybank slid six sen to RM10.04, Public Bank and CIMB each declined one sen to RM4.04 and RM6.99 respectively, while Tenaga Nasional added four sen to RM14.28. IHH Healthcare remained flat at RM6.33.

Among the most active counters, Orgabio gained five sen to 48 sen, Green Ocean increased two sen to 18 sen, and SNS Network rose 3.5 sen to 92 sen. 

HHRG was flat at 16.5 sen, while Ocean Fresh slipped 5.5 sen to 71.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 9.71 points to 12,466.97, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 10.37 points to 12,034.26, the FBM ACE Index gave up 6.43 points to 5,955.20, and the FBM 70 Index declined 11.35 points to 18,382.57. 

However, the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 2.70 points to 12,831.54.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.35 of-a-point to 199.54, the Energy Index climbed 2.27 points to 991.83, and the Plantation Index gained 16.31 points to 7,030.22, while the Financial Services Index eased by 38.68 points to 17,621.95.

-- BERNAMA