Bursa Malaysia Opens Lower Ahead Of US CPI Data

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Thursday after three straight days of gains, as investors stayed cautious ahead of the release of the United States' August consumer price index (CPI) data later in the day.

At 9.05 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) retreated 9.61 points to 1,581.14 from Wednesday’s close of 1,590.75, after opening 7.92 points lower at 1,582.83.

Market breadth was flat, with 119 gainers and 117 losers, while 209 counters were unchanged, 2,177 untraded and 11 suspended.

Turnover was 68.44 million shares worth RM47.47 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended mixed overnight, with all three major indices paring gains as investors awaited the CPI report.

He noted that the producer price index (PPI) slipped slightly in August, while the US 10-year Treasury yield eased marginally to 4.045 per cent.

“Additionally, traders are hopeful for a possible rate cut by China in view of its recently weak CPI data,” he said.

On the local front, Thong said the FBM KLCI had closed above the 1,590 level on Wednesday, its highest in two weeks.

“We believe foreign funds may have started nibbling on local equities, which is a positive sign. We expect the index to move within the 1,590-1,600 range today,” he added.

Among heavyweights, Maybank fell six sen to RM9.73, Public Bank slipped four sen to RM4.23, CelcomDigi eased two sen to RM3.64, while Petronas Gas and Press Metal shed four sen each to RM18.50 and RM5.58, respectively.

In active trade, VS Industry rose one sen to 55 sen, TWL and NexG were flat at three sen and 49 sen, respectively, while PA Resources eased half-a-sen to 15.5 sen.

Nestle was the top loser, retreating 50 sen to RM95.00. Petronas Dagangan fell 14 sen to RM21.86, while PIE Industrial and Panasonic dropped six sen each to RM2.86 and RM8.45, respectively.

Across the broader market, the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 3.12 points to 11,773.04 and the FBM 70 Index gained 25.86 points to 16,449.19.

However, the FBM Emas Index shed 38.32 points to 11,748.13, the FBMT 100 Index lost 40.20 points to 11,511.26, and the FBM ACE Index declined 11.68 points to 4,716.42.

By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.43 of-a-point to 163.65, the Plantation Index fell 3.44 points to 7,678.69, and the Financial Services Index dropped 168.78 points to 17,923.37. The Energy Index rose 4.06 points to 744.12.

-- BERNAMA