Tariffs of between 15% and 50% on major economies took effect on Thursday, even as negotiations with Washington continued.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 0.28 of a point, or 0.02%, to 1,549.39 from yesterday’s close of 1,549.11.
The benchmark index had earlier opened 0.11 of a point lower at 1,549.0.
Market breadth was slightly negative, with decliners outnumbering gainers 157 to 111. Another 255 counters were unchanged, 1,990 untraded and nine suspended. Turnover stood at 158.25 million shares worth RM69.68 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street’s mixed close reflected investor caution over the potential impact of Trump’s tariffs, which could be felt in the coming months.
In the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index extended its uptrend, supported by an unexpected improvement in China’s July exports, which rose 7.2% against market expectations of 5.6%.
“Additionally, while we believe there could be some foreign buying, we hope this time they will stay a tad longer. For today, we expect the FBM KLCI to trend between the 1,545 and 1,555 range,” Thong told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional gained 2 sen each to RM9.65 and RM13.78 respectively, CIMB rose 3 sen to RM6.81, and Public Bank was flat at RM4.29. IHH Healthcare fell 4 sen to RM6.91.
On the actively traded list, TWL was unchanged at 2.5 sen, Ekovest slipped one sen to 39.5 sen, and Genting lost 4 sen to RM2.96. NexG and Malayan United Industries added 0.5 sen each to 53.5 sen and 6.5 sen respectively.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index eased 0.39 of a point to 11,566.15, the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 7.58 points to 11,598.58, and the FBMT 100 Index edged up 0.41 of a point to 11,341.07.
The FBM 70 Index fell 6.69 points to 16,522.28, while the FBM ACE Index dropped 14.72 points to 4,616.16.
By sector, the Financial Services Index advanced 20.22 points to 17,514.68, the Plantation Index gained 27.14 points to 7,375.88, the Energy Index rose 0.49 of a point to 735.17, while the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.17 of a point to 157.85.