Bursa Malaysia Opens Lower Amid Intensified Conflict In Middle East

By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Monday, extending last week’s downtrend, weighed down by the broadly lower Wall Street performance amid the intensified conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran, said an analyst. 

At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 2.89 points to 1,515.22 from Friday’s close of 1,518.11.

The benchmark index opened 0.24 of-a-point lower at 1,517.87.

Market breadth was negative, with 258 decliners outpacing 88 gainers. Another 229 counters were unchanged, while 1,840 were untraded and 21 suspended.

Turnover stood at 115.70 million shares worth RM63.78 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the conflict has worsened with both countries launching airstrikes.

As a result, crude oil prices surged with Brent crude surging past US$70 per barrel to end at almost US$75 per barrel. Meanwhile, the US 10-year US Treasury yield inched higher at 4.407 per cent.

Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped below the 24,000 level as tension in the Middle East escalates.

Back home, the FBM KLCI on Friday closed weaker below the 1,520 mark amid a regional downtrend over the tense situation in the Middle East.

“Given the uncertainties between China-US recent trade negotiation, coupled with the Iran-Israel situation, we believe traders would be side-lined to wait out for more clarity.

“As such, we expect the index to hover within the 1,500-1,510 range today,” he told Bernama. 

Among heavyweights, YTL Corporation slid 7.0 sen to RM2.10, YTL Power International and Gamuda reduced 6.0 sen each to RM3.64 and RM4.71, respectively, Hong Leong Financial Group was down by 18 sen to RM16.18, while SD Guthrie and Sunway shed 5.0 sen each to RM4.54 and RM4.79, respectively. 

Among the most actively traded stocks, Mpire Global and Saudigold Group were flat each at 11.5 sen and 1.0 sen, respectively, Hibiscus Petroleum rose 9.0 sen to RM1.75, Bumi Armada increased 2.0 sen to 51 sen, and Velesto Energy was half-a-sen higher to 19 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slipped 33.39 points to 11,336.78, the FBMT 100 Index fell 31.48 points to 11,112.56, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 23.51 points to 11,306.02.

The FBM 70 Index shed 86.67 points to 16,282.04, while the FBM ACE Index weakened 20.25 points to 4,466.94.

By sector, the Plantation Index trimmed 0.65 of-a-point to 7,220.27, and the Energy Index appreciated by 15.22 points to 755.98.

The Financial Services Index slid 46.68 points to 17,601.57, while the Industrial Products and Services Index dipped 0.54 of a point to 150.81.

-- BERNAMA