Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia showed a slight decline in the early trading session on Friday, reflecting the softer trends observed overnight on Wall Street. At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) decreased by 0.80 of-a-point, or 0.05 percent, landing at 1,751.31, in contrast to the previous day's close at 1,752.11. The index initially opened higher by 0.68 of-a-point at 1,752.79.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, market breadth indicated a negative sentiment, with 138 losers surpassing 110 gainers. Meanwhile, 276 counters remained unchanged, 2,234 were untraded, and 24 were suspended. The turnover was recorded at 93.35 million shares, valued at RM59.18 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, noted that Wall Street experienced a downturn as investors shifted away from financial stocks, particularly those related to private credit, due to concerns about potential losses in the private loans sector. Domestically, the FBM KLCI managed to sustain support from ongoing stock accumulation by foreign funds. Although a rally due to the Chinese New Year might not be anticipated, the consistent inflow of funds could eventually generate interest in small- and mid-cap stocks. The expectation for the benchmark index is to hover between 1,750 and 1,760.
Among the top market players, Maybank saw an increase of two sen to RM12.08, while Public Bank and CIMB each dropped by one sen to RM5.05 and RM8.46, respectively. Tenaga Nasional decreased by four sen to RM14.22, and IHH Healthcare remained stable at RM8.91.
On the most actively traded list, NexG increased by 1.5 sen to 30.5 sen, Astro Malaysia rose by half-a-sen to 80 sen, while MAG and Borneo Oil remained unchanged at 18 sen and one sen, respectively. Tanco advanced by one sen to RM1.45.
Top gainers included Panasonic Manufacturing, which rose by 12 sen to RM7.72. Malaysian Pacific Industries increased by 10 sen to RM30.88, Sarawak Plantation by nine sen to RM3.58, Teck Guan Perdana by seven sen to RM2.11, and 99 Speed Mart by six sen to RM3.56.
Leading the decliners were United Plantations, down by 12 sen to RM29.84, Allianz Malaysia, down by eight sen to RM22.58, with Malayan Cement and Vitrox each losing six sen to RM8.54 and RM4.24, respectively. Press Metal Aluminium declined by five sen to RM7.63.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index fell by 7.05 points to 12,671.42, the FBM Emas Index dropped by 7.92 points to 12,852.55, the FBM Mid 70 Index slid by 15.86 points to 17,815.94, the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 10.92 points to 12,392.87, and the FBM ACE Index eased by 7.49 points to 4,821.02.
In terms of sectors, the Financial Services Index edged up by 3.90 points to 21,569.0, the Plantation Index rose by 0.52 of-a-point to 8,402.83, while the Energy Index slipped by 0.18 of-a-point to 773.93, and the Industrial Products and Services Index fell by 0.61 points to 177.89.