Bursa Malaysia Opens Lower On Lack Of Buying Interest

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opens lower today on lack of buying interest after the recent rally, despite the better regional market showing which tracked the upbeat performance on Wall Street overnight.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 4.28 points to 1,572.92 from yesterday’s close of 1,577.20.

At the opening bell, the benchmark index ticked up 0.30 of-a-point higher to 1,577.50.

Market breadth was negative with losers leading gainers 178 to 111 while 271 counters were unchanged, 1,861 untraded, and 133 suspended.

Turnover amounted to 186.23 million shares valued at RM125.16 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said Wall Street ended higher following US President Donald Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) where he said he is looking at a lower interest rate environment going forward, pressuring the central bank.

“In the US, markets rose after Trump’s speech at the WEF, where he announced plans to urge OPEC nations to lower oil prices to curb inflation and would then push for further interest rates cut, boosting optimism on Wall Street,” it said in a note today.

The brokerage firm added that investors will also be monitoring the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) interest rate decision today, whereby the BoJ governor had signalled potential rate hikes. 

However, it believes that bargain hunting opportunities will emerge within the YTL-related counters, with YTL Corporation Bhd and YTL Power International Bhd’s recent plan for bonus warrant issues, and the latter’s secured access to Nvidia chips despite US export curbs.

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank decreased three sen to RM4.31, Maybank slid four sen to RM13.32, while CIMB added five sen to RM8.02, Tenaga Nasional rose two sen to RM13.82, and IHH Healthcare perked up one sen to RM7.18.

Among active stocks, Oriental Kopi Holdings and Vanzo Holdings gained half-a-sen to 87.5 sen and 20 sen, respectively, YTL Power declined 16 sen to RM3.89, Gamuda shed 10 sen to RM4.19, while CBH Engineering Holding was flat at 37 sen.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index lost 24.44 points to 12,058.32, the FBMT 100 Index trimmed 25.50 points to 11,743.30, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 18.51 points to 11,931.59, the FBM ACE Index fell 13.90 points to 5,211.46, and the FBM 70 Index slid 15.05 points to 18,022.55.

By sector, the Energy Index eased 4.04 points to 838.60, the Financial Services Index decreased 23.67 points to 18,838.67, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.19 of-a-point to 168.73, and the Plantation Index dipped 1.0 point to 7,405.68.

-- BERNAMA