Bursa Malaysia Opens Lower, Tracking Wall Street Slump

By Karina Imran

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Friday, tracking Wall Street's decline following the United States (US) President Donald Trump threatened new import tariffs, said an analyst. 

At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 7.83 points to 1,578.77 from Thursday's close of 1,586.60. 

The benchmark index opened 4.63 points easier at 1,581.97.

On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 293 to 83, with 210 counters unchanged, 1,791 untraded and 67 suspended. 

Turnover stood at 185.72 million shares worth RM121.13 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Trump reaffirmed that tariffs on Canada and Mexico would take effect on March 4, while also threatening to impose a 25 per cent tariff on the European Union. 

Additionally, a jump in the latest jobless claims signals a softening economy, further dampening sentiment, he told Bernama.

"Back home, the FBM KLCI also closed lower due to some profit-taking activities. 

"Nonetheless, we are somewhat disappointed that recent buying activities were not sustainable. As a result, the benchmark index may experience some minor consolidation," he said. 

As such, Thong anticipates the index to hover within the 1,580-1,590 range today.

Bursa heavyweights Maybank and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM10.66 and RM7.31, respectively. 

CIMB eased one sen RM8.21, Public Bank declined two sen to RM4.47 and Tenaga Nasional slipped 10 sen to RM13.46. 

As for the actives, Genting Malaysia dropped 30 sen to RM2.06 and MR D.I.Y. sank eight sen to RM1.50, TWL remained flat at 2.5 sen and KNM added 1.5 sen to seven sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slid 83.35 points to 11,836.60, the FBMT 100 Index trimmed 83.91 points to 11,583.06, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 82.97 points to 11,512.82, the FBM 70 Index shaved 228.18 points to 16,988.72, and the FBM ACE Index gave up 21.74 points to 4,802.23.

By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.26 points to 160.87, the Energy Index eased 0.43 of-a-point to 766.77 and the Financial Services Index reduced 29.11 points to 19,387.32, but the Plantation Index was 12.57 points firmer at 7,594.42. 

-- BERNAMA