BURSA MALAYSIA KLCI DECLINES DESPITE EARLY GAINS

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher but later slipped as market sentiment turned cautious.

At 9.19 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined by 1.40 points to 1,498.0, down from Friday’s close of 1,499.40.

The benchmark index had earlier opened 2.68 points higher at 1,502.08.

The broader market was marginally negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 206 to 154. A total of 264 stocks were unchanged, 1,801 untraded, and 39 suspended.

Turnover stood at 253.54 million shares, valued at RM81.82 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd believed that the ongoing trade war could impact global growth as businesses adopt a wait-and-see approach, potentially delaying expansion plans and dampening economic activity.

It noted that this might contribute to a broader global slowdown, with the upside potential for banking stocks likely to be capped.

“Nevertheless, we favour the tourism, plantation, and construction sectors, which are expected to benefit from the 31 memoranda of understanding signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Malaysia,” it said in a note today.

Among the heavyweights, Hong Leong Bank advanced 14 sen to RM19.98, MISC added one sen to RM7.21, SD Guthrie gained four sen to RM4.64, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM4.39 and RM6.89, respectively, while Maybank slid two sen to RM10, TNB declined six sen to RM13.44, and CIMB fell three sen to RM6.85.

Of the actives, ECA Integrated inched up half-a-sen to 18 sen, NexG rose one sen to 33 sen, One Glove and Peter Labs each increased 1.5 sen to 22 sen and 26.5 sen, respectively, Ingenieur Gudang and Jiankun were flat at four sen and three sen, while Tanco shed three sen to 86 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index lost 17.35 points to 11,104.15, the FBMT 100 Index dwindled 16.99 points to 10,887.74, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 13.55 points to 10,896.58, and the FBM 70 Index dropped 51.75 points to 15,561.88.

Meanwhile, the FBM ACE Index gained 22.23 points to 4,597.61.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index decreased by 7.36 points to 18,026.16, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.30 of-a-point to 144.78, the Energy Index trimmed 3.14 points to 662.73, and the Plantation Index added 23.56 points to 7,249.94.

-- BERNAMA