KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia made an uncertain start on Monday despite the bounce on Wall Street last Friday as investors remained wary of geopolitical tensions arising from US trade policies.
The benchmark FBM KLCI was down 1.69 points to 1,545.58, in a sign that the selling pressure could yet continue as the index dipped to a fresh seven-month low.
Apex Research said it expected bargain-hunting to emerge on the market although it anticipated the buying to be short-lived due to quick profit-taking.
"We continue to advocate a defensive stance amid market uncertainties, favoring REITs and selective plays in property, consumer, and financial sectors with minimal exposure to foreign trade risks.
However, today, the technology sector may see some bargain hunting following the Nasdaq’s overnight rebound after last week’s dip," said the research firm in a statement.
Rakuten Trade, however, was more optimistic as it expected a swift rebound to the 1,550-1,565 range today.
"Fundamentally, the local bourse remains sound as recent earnings result scorecard illustrates that 2025 growth is tagged at 9.2% after a 16.4% growth in 2024," it said in its outlook.
On the blue-chip, index, PETRONAS Gas dropped 22 sen to RM1.66, Tenaga Nasional shed 18 sen to RM13.56 and Telekom Malaysia lost nin sen to RM6.81.
Among the bank stocks, CIMB fell three sen sen to RM7.49, Maybank dropped eight sen to RM10.56 and Public Bank dipped three sen to RM4.52.
Of actives, Sapura Energy
lost 0.5 sen to three sen, NexG was flat at 27 sen and SNS Network gained 1.5 sne to 42 sen.
