Bursa Opens 0.36 Pct Easier After Two-day Rally, Tracking Mixed Global Cues

By Harizah Hanim Mohamed

KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened on a low note on Friday after recording gains over two consecutive sessions, tracking the mixed performance of global markets.

At 9.15 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) erased 4.59 points to 1,535.73, after closing at an intra-day high of 1,540.32 yesterday.

The index had opened 1.60 points lower at 1,538.66.

Turnover stood at 214.97 million shares valued at RM113.71 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd Head of research Kenny Yee said Wall Street closed mixed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended lower due to the sell-off on IBM.

“Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index continued its winning streak to stay within the 25,700 mark as sentiment remains buoyant with the United States (US) looking more forthcoming in negotiations amid the ongoing trade tension, and many are hoping a deal may be agreed between the US and the EU soon.

“On the home front, the FBM KLCI displayed another decent performance as it ended at the 1,540 level, possibly from institutional support in view of the upcoming results season,” he told Bernama.

Yee said that the index is expected to maintain its positive course and trend in the 1,535-1,550 range today.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank lost two sen to RM9.61, Tenaga Nasional reduced 18 sen to RM13.76 and CIMB was one sen easier at RM6.69, while IHH Healthcare earned three sen to RM6.68 and Public Bank was flat at RM4.31.

As for the active counters, NexG advanced one sen to 52.5 sen, Green Packet added half-a-sen to five sen and Lotte Chemicals was one sen lower at 69.5 sen, while TWL, Pharmaniaga and SFP Tech were unchanged at 2.5 sen, 22 sen and 20 sen, respectively.

On the broader index board, the FBM Emas Index erased 30.76 points to 11,520.41, the FBMT 100 Index slid 31.96 points to 11,282.60, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 39.34 points to 11,541.62.

The FBM 70 Index was 39.42 points lower at 16,619.45, while the FBM ACE Index added 0.88 of a point to 4,643.39.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index reduced 10.21 points to 17,495.37 and the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.41 of a point to 157.75, while the Energy Index rose 1.17 points to 739.85 and the Plantation Index inched up 1.02 points to 7,470.98.

-- BERNAMA