At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 3.73 points to 1,727.29, after opening 1.79 points lower at 1,729.23, compared with Thursday’s close of 1,731.02.
On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 374 to 72, while 275 counters were unchanged. A total of 1,934 counters were untraded, with 27 suspended.
Market turnover stood at 240.07 million shares worth RM149.64 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street finished sharply lower as sustained selling in technology stocks, coupled with weak jobs data, heightened concerns in a market already rattled by a major downturn in the software sector.
“The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.20% to 48,908.72, the S&P 500 dropped 1.23% to 6,798.40, while the Nasdaq Composite plunged 1.59% to 22,540.59.
“In Hong Kong, stocks rose on bargain hunting in technology names such as Lenovo, Baidu, and Xiaomi, with the Hang Seng Index gaining 0.14 per cent to 26,885.24,” he noted.
On the local front, Thong said yesterday’s FBM KLCI decline should be seen as a pause rather than a reversal after a strong run.
“The resilience shown during pullbacks points to underlying confidence, with investors comfortable holding positions while the market consolidates. We expect the FBM KLCI to trade within 1,730–1,745 today,” he added.
Among heavyweight counters, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional fell 2.0 sen each to RM11.92 and RM13.96, IHH Healthcare slipped 1.0 sen to RM8.76, Public Bank rose 2.0 sen to RM4.92, while CIMB remained flat at RM8.52.
On the most active list, ACE Market debutant AmBest Group gained 8.0 sen to 33 sen, Zetrix AI and Gamuda eased 4.0 sen each to 65.5 sen and RM3.99, Top Glove dipped 0.5 sen to 57.5 sen, while MMAG was unchanged at 5.0 sen.
Top gainers included HI Mobility, up 10 sen to RM2.30, Malayan Cement, up 3.0 sen to RM8.25, Superlon, up 2.5 sen to 69.5 sen, and Karex and IJM Corporation, each rising 2.0 sen to 64 sen and RM2.82.
Leading decliners were Malaysian Pacific Industries, down 86 sen to RM31.14, Allianz Malaysia, down 82 sen to RM21.66, Dutch Lady Milk Industries, down 46 sen to RM33.00, Fraser & Neave, down 20 sen to RM33.68, and Tradeplus Shariah Gold Tracker, down 19 sen to RM5.91.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index fell 39.54 points to 12,432.41, the FBM Emas Index lost 43.07 points to 12,601.35, the FBM Mid 70 Index dropped 112.04 points to 17,186.47, the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 60.87 points to 12,064.45, and the FBM ACE Index erased 43.35 points to 4,591.0.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 32.13 points to 21,441.91, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.76 of-a-point to 173.77, the Plantation Index fell 22.74 points to 8,319.64, and the Energy Index slipped 4.98 points to 735.67.