KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — Bursa Malaysia began the week today with a mixed session, lifted by bargain-hunting in selected heavyweights led by Petronas Chemicals and Press Metal amid mounting concerns over geopolitical tensions and weaker sentiment on most regional bourses, a dealer said.

At 9.04am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose marginally 0.11 of-a-point to 1,604.05 from 1,603.94 at Friday’s close.

The barometer index opened 2.33 points firmer at 1,606.27.

However, on the broader market, losers surpassed gainers 220 to 167, while 200 counters were unchanged, 1,676 untraded and 10 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 152.02 million units worth RM82.02 million.

Moreover, Public Investment Bank Bhd said the S&P 500 share index slipped 0.8 per cent and the technology-focused Nasdaq composite fell 1.7 per cent on Wall Street in choppy trading.

“Instead, investors sought out the safety of US government bonds, gold and the dollar.

“The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note, which underpins borrowing costs worldwide, fell 0.1 percentage points to 1.74 per cent,” it said in a note today.

In tandem with the negative global sentiment, the brokerage reckoned that the FBM KLCI to trend sideways between the 1,622 and 1,600 marks, with support levels for the index at 1,551-1,600, while the resistance levels at 1,620-1,652.

Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals gained 20 sen to RM10.24, Press Metal added three sen to RM7.25, and Maybank, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare unchanged at RM9.00, RM4.42, RM6.60, respectively.

Of the actives, Hibiscus Petroleum rose six sen to RM1.30, Euro Holdings inched up 3.5 sen to 38.5 sen, and Velesto Energy increased half-a-sen to 13.0 sen.

On the index board, FBM Emas Index was 8.00 points weaker at 11,333.51, FBM 70 slipped 51.34 points to 13,135.85, FBMT 100 Index contracted 8.54 points to 11,022.59, and FBM ACE dropped 32.79 points to 5,475.27.

Conversely, the FBM Emas Shariah Index firmed 0.32 of-a-point to 12,079.69.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index bagged 1.19 points to 214.41, while the Financial Services Index shrank 36.84 points to 16,356.39 and the Plantation Index depreciated 33.71 points to 8,513.80. — Bernama