KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s stock exchange extended its downtrend, opening lower on Thursday as investor sentiment remained cautious over US tariff concerns, despite Wall Street’s positive performance overnight.
At 9.07 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 1.03 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 1,579.85 from Wednesday’s close of 1,580.88.
The benchmark index opened 0.26 of-a-point lower at 1,580.62.
On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 171 to 149, with 264 counters unchanged, 1,756 untraded and 22 suspended. Turnover fell to 298.61 million shares worth RM95.69 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee Shen Pin said Wall Street closed modestly higher on Wednesday as traders shrugged off hawkish remarks from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) on inflation and interest rates.
Yee said the Fed remains concerned about inflationary pressures from the ongoing tariff measures imposed by US President Donald Trump, who may introduce a 25% tariff on imports of automobiles, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
He said the FBM KLCI remained under pressure, closing lower at the 1,580 level on Wednesday.
“We suspect foreign funds may be realigning their portfolios away from ASEAN, shifting towards the Hong Kong market for now.
“However, we expect this downtrend to be temporary, as we believe more funds will eventually rotate out of Wall Street into Asia, creating a spillover effect across the region,” he said in a note.
Yee expects the benchmark index to hover within the 1,580-1,590 range on Thursday.
Among heavyweights, Maybank fell eight sen to RM10.42, Public Bank declined three sen to RM4.51, and Tenaga Nasional eased two sen to RM13.84. In contrast, CIMB gained four sen to RM8.33, while IHH Healthcare added two sen to RM7.23.
ACE Market debutant ES Sunlogy led active counters, rising 1.5 sen to 31.5 sen. Ingenieur Gudang, TWL Holdings and Harvest Miracle were unchanged at 5.5 sen, 2.5 sen and 14 sen, respectively, while Widad Group edged up half-a-sen to four sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slipped 0.14 of-a-point to 11,942.86, while the FBMT 100 Index rose 0.41 of-a-point to 11,666.21. The FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 14.04 points to 11,636.08.
The FBM 70 Index advanced 32.10 points to 17,409.68, while the FBM ACE Index lost 19.04 points to 4,988.12.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index fell 57.45 points to 19,288.70, the Plantation Index declined 1.52 points to 7,420.88, and the Energy Index shed 1.43 points to 754.10. The Industrial Products and Services Index, however, edged up 0.50 of-a-point to 162.55. – February 20, 2025