KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — Bursa Malaysia opened easier today amid a mixed regional performance, said an analyst.
At 9.14am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 2.07 points to 1,452.97 from 1,455.04 at Monday’s close. The key index opened 0.9 points lower at 1,454.14
The broader market was negative with decliners surpassing advancers 175 to 136 while 270 counters were unchanged and 1,741 untraded.
Turnover amounted to 268.08 million units worth RM106.73 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said traders may stay cautious ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Sept 19-20.
“Closer to home, we think the local bourse may perform on a positive note after Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli elaborated further on the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) on national TV.
“He has reiterated that the government will be focussing on five high-growth, high-value sectors (HGHV) (which would help lift the local bourse) while buying interest may spill over from Wall Street’s rise overnight as well,” said the brokerage firm.
Under the 12MP, the five HGHV sectors that would be in focus are renewable energy, technology and digital, electrical and electronics, agriculture and agro-based as well as rare earth industries. Malacca Securities reckons that investors may look into those areas for trading opportunities over the near term.
Commodities-wise, Brent crude oil maintained its firm trading tone above the US$90 per barrel level, while crude palm oil prices are still trading below RM3,800 per tonne.
Bursa heavyweight counters Maybank and Public Bank declined one sen each to RM9.15 and RM4.23, respectively, while Petronas Chemical dropped seven sen to RM7.16.
CIMB and Telekom Malaysia gained one sen each to RM5.72 and RM5.06, respectively.
Of the actives, IFCA MSC added two sen to 33 sen, Ekovest shed two sen to 51 sen while Tanco and Asdion were flat at 55.5 sen and 2.5 sen, respectively. — Bernama
