By Abdul Hamid A Rahman
KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower today as investors turned cautious despite last Friday’s gains on Wall Street amid protracted West Asia uncertainties.
At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 3.20 points to 1,692.01 from Friday’s close of 1,695.21.
The benchmark index opened 1.71 points lower at 1,693.50.
Market breadth was negative, with 252 losers outpacing 202 gainers. A total of 338 counters were unchanged, while 1,966 were untraded and 24 suspended.
Turnover stood at 223.31 million shares, valued at RM152.16 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the initial developments were positive after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open.
“While the initial developments are positive, the situation remains fluid as Iran reportedly said the Strait of Hormuz has been closed again after several vessels came under gunfire,” he told Bernama.
As such, he expected the FBM KLCI to hover within the 1,690-1,700 range today, with a cautious undertone.
Among heavyweights, Maybank slipped four sen to RM11.06, Public Bank eased two sen to RM4.66, Tenaga Nasional fell four sen to RM14.28, CIMB Group decreased one sen to RM7.46, while IHH Healthcare rose seven sen to RM8.80.
On the most active list, AirAsia X lost five sen to RM1.28, VS Industry gained half-a-sen to 20 sen, Capital A slipped one sen to 46 sen, Inari Amertron added four sen to RM1.69, while Pharmaniaga was unchanged at 24 sen.
Among top gainers, Allianz Malaysia advanced 20 sen to RM21.40, Dutch Lady gained 12 sen to RM32.38, LPI Capital rose 10 sen to RM14.40, Petronas Chemicals added nine sen to RM5.66, and UWC climbed seven sen to RM4.54.
Top losers included United Plantations, which fell 50 sen to RM33.68, Fraser & Neave dropping 20 sen to RM30.80, Alliance Bank declining 16 sen to RM4.64, UMS Integration losing 10 sen to RM6.00, while Nestle eased 10 sen to RM98.90.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index fell 20.64 points to 12,330.57, the FBM Emas Index slipped 21.79 points to 12,496.38, the FBM Mid 70 Index dropped 18.12 points to 17,705.61, the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 6.94 points to 12,441.12, and the FBM ACE Index declined 21.42 points to 4,578.23.
By sector, the Plantation Index eased 23.99 points to 8.904.67, the Financial Services Index slipped 61.72 points to 19.752.95, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.41 of-a-point to 188.45, while the Energy Index eased 0.06 of-a-point to 815.71.
-- BERNAMA
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