At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 2.00 points to 1,729.71 from yesterday’s close of 1,727.71. The benchmark index opened 5.17 points higher at 1,732.88.
However, on the broader market, losers surpassed gainers 211 to 205, while 329 counters were unchanged, 1,959 untraded, and 12 suspended.
Turnover stood at 224.06 million shares valued at RM135.48 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended mixed as both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices fell from persistent sell-down on technology stocks due to escalating crude oil prices and bond yields.
“The US 10-year yield has eased marginally to 4.585%.
“Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index declined further as investors’ confidence took a hit by China’s weaker-than-expected economic data for April, as retail sales encountered the slowest growth since December 2022,” he noted.
Back home, he said the FBM KLCI ended lower, below the 1,730 level, giving foreign funds fresh excuses to unload their holdings.
“We see investors would have turned risk-averse for now, hence may only look to bargain hunt when the index closes in on the 1,700 mark or below.
“Therefore, we anticipate the index to trend within the 1,720-1,735 range today,” he added.
Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd expects the FBM KLCI to trade in a risk-off mode, tracking Wall Street’s mixed performance.
Among heavyweight stocks, CIMB put on three sen to RM7.83, Tenaga Nasional added 12 sen to RM14.56, Public Bank eased two sen to RM4.81, IHH Healthcare was one sen lower at RM9.04, while Maybank was flat at RM11.08.
Among active stocks, Oppstar rose three sen to 96 sen, TT Vision and Pharmaniaga put on one sen each to 35 sen and 25 sen, while GIIB and TWL were flat at 30.5 sen and 2.5 sen, respectively.
Top gainers included Sunway Construction, which surged 34 sen to RM7.44, 99 Speed Mart Retail, which advanced 18 sen to RM3.46, Hong Leong Industries, which perked 14 sen to RM18.62, Westports, which improved 13 sen to RM6.11 and Petronas Gas, gaining 12 sen to RM17.96.
Among top losers, Nestle gave up 88 sen to RM94.52, UMS Integration slid 51 sen to RM7.89, Hong Leong Bank was down 18 sen to RM21.80, Sam Engineering & Equipment lost 15 sen to RM4.51, and Malaysian Pacific Industries slipped 10 sen to RM43.10.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index edged up 11.34 points to 12,816.11, the FBM Top 100 Index advanced 10.16 points to 12,652.90, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 11.68 points to 12,760.75, the FBM ACE Index inched up 0.59 of a point to 4,720.64, but the FBM Mid 70 Index slid 4.31 points to 18,373.20.
By sector, the Financial Services Index fell 7.54 points to 20,110.86, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.01 points to 198.65, the Energy Index shed 2.66 points to 804.41, and the Plantation Index went down 16.93 points to 8,590.99.