BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS LOWER, TRACKING WEAKER WALL STREET, CAUTIOUS SENTIMENT

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, tracking Wall Street’s overnight losses as investor sentiment remained cautious amid lingering economic uncertainties surrounding the US tariff narrative.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 3.00 points to 1,473.92 from Wednesday’s close of 1,476.92.

The benchmark index opened 1.75 points lower at 1,475.17.

The broader market was negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 232 to 91. A total of 212 counters were unchanged, 1,875 untraded, and 19 suspended.

Turnover stood at 141.63 million shares worth RM64.54 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended lower despite a strong start, as sentiment turned cautious following Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s warning on the US economy.

“Also, on the issue of Nvidia’s US$5.5 billion (US$1 = RM4.40) quarterly charge related to chip export restrictions to China and other countries, which triggered a tech sell-off.

“Meanwhile, the US 10-year Treasury yield eased further to 4.28 per cent,” he told Bernama.

On the local front, Thong said the FBM KLCI’s hopes for a sustained uptrend faded due to the lack of buying interest and subdued regional performance.

“With funds increasingly adopting a ‘risk-off’ stance and shifting towards gold as a safe haven, we expect the benchmark index to hover within the 1,470–1,480 range today,” he added.

Among the heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional climbed 2.0 sen to RM13.46.

Public Bank and IHH Healthcare eased 2.0 sen to RM4.28 and RM6.80, respectively, CIMB Group slipped 6.0 sen to RM6.65, and Maybank slid 1.0 sen to RM9.83.

Among the actives, Aumas Resources climbed 2.0 sen to 78 sen, while Ekovest slipped 1.0 sen to 30.5 sen, and Pertama Digital eased half-a-sen to 13.5 sen. Revenue Group and Avangaad were flat at 9.5 sen and 28.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 29.09 points to 10,934.64, the FBMT 100 Index slid 29.74 points to 10,720.12, the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 19.25 points to 10,755.66, the FBM 70 Index tumbled 74.06 points to 15,352.04, and the FBM ACE Index dropped 11.81 points to 4,503.42.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 52.11 points to 17,665.55, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.38 of-a-point to 143.10, and the Plantation Index decreased 33.20 points to 7,151.20.

Meanwhile, the Energy Index added 1.26 points to 648.01.

-- BERNAMA