Bursa Malaysia Opens Lower Amid Wall St, Regional Weakness

By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended its three-day winning streak, opening lower due to weak regional sentiment and tracking Wall Street's overnight decline as traders await Nvidia Corporation's results.

At 9.06 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 6.49 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 1,668.75, down from Wednesday's close of 1,675.24.

The index began the day 2.29 points lower at 1,672.95.

The broader market was weaker, with losers outnumbering gainers by 273 to 115. 

There were 243 counters unchanged, 1,887 untraded and 108 suspended. 

Turnover was 151.22 million units, valued at RM99.78 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd’s equity research vice-president, Thong Pak Leng, said despite Nvidia’s earnings beating estimates, US stock futures fell nearly 7 per cent.

He said the decline was attributed to disappointment over the company's forecast and high expectations from traders.

But Nvidia reported earnings after the bell that surpassed Wall Street expectations and provided stronger-than-expected guidance for the current quarter. 

“Back home, the FBM KLCI closed above the 1,670 mark yesterday, a level not seen since 2019.

“Despite a 40-point jump in the benchmark index since last Friday, we remain positive and believe liquidity will eventually benefit the broader market,” Thong told Bernama.

Thong expects the FBM KLCI to hover within the 1,670-1,680 range today.

Among heavyweights, Maybank decreased by two sen to RM10.84, Public Bank fell three sen to RM4.77, CIMB dropped 11 sen to RM8.27, and Tenaga was down four sen to RM13.96.

However, IHH gained two sen to RM6.33.

Among active stocks, Luster and Velesto were half-a-sen lower at seven sen and 21 sen respectively.

Powerwell eased four sen to 38 sen, while Cape and TWL remained flat at 35 sen and 2.5 sen respectively. Sealink increased one sen to 35.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell by 57.10 points to 12,413.48, the FBMT 100 Index lost 57.68 points to 12,116.38, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 59.46 points to 12,174.43.

The FBM 70 Index declined by 122.07 points to 17,348.62, and the FBM ACE Index fell 17.06 points to 5,102.57.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index gained 15.05 points to 7,308.80, while the Financial Services Index decreased by 68.26 points to 19,756.68.

The Industrial Products and Services Index fell by 0.51 points to 181.68, and the Energy Index declined by 5.91 points to 918.70.

-- BERNAMA