KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI opened lower on Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as rising US Treasury yields and lingering Middle East tensions kept investors cautious.
The benchmark index declined 2.04 points, or 0.12%, to 1,674.39. It opened 1.98 points lower at 1,674.45.
Overnight, the S&P 500 fell 0.75% to 7,706.05, the Nasdaq declined 1.13% to 26,936.04, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.68% to 51,511.59.
Among the decliners, BLD Plantation
slid 36 sen to RM14.64, Hong Leong Bank eased 24 sen to RM22.96, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 20 sen to RM22.30 and Malaysian Pacific Industries declined 20 sen to RM44.38.
In contrast, Nestle surged 68 sen to RM90.18, UMS Integration added 19 sen to RM8.59, Heineken gained 16 sen to RM13.56 and Hengyuan climbed 13 sen to RM4.60.
“We expect the FBM KLCI to remain cautious amid elevated yields and firmer oil prices,” Malacca Securities said.
It noted that Northern Solar could stay in focus after Bursa Malaysia approved its transfer from the ACE Market to the Main Market.
Along the AI theme, Malacca Securities said YTL Power could attract attention following YTL AI Labs’ collaboration with NVIDIA to launch Nemotron-Personas-Malaysia, an open dataset comprising 1.35 million synthetic Malaysian personas.
In construction, Hartanah Kenyalang could see interest on its RM800.5mil order book and expansion into utilities-related works, while Keeming remains supported by its RM246mil order book and RM143mil in FY27 year-to-date wins.
Meanwhile, Berjaya Research expects the FBM KLCI to remain volatile in the near term as investors await further clarity on developments in the Middle East.
It said hawkish remarks from US Federal Reserve officials on the interest rate outlook, which triggered renewed volatility on Wall Street overnight, could see weakness permeate across Bursa Malaysia today.
“For the day ahead, investors will also adopt a wait-and-see approach ahead of the U.S.-China summit later today for potential trade developments between the two economic powerhouses,” Berjaya Research said.
The research house said technically, the key index formed a bearish candlestick after trading mostly in negative territory.
Immediate resistance levels remain at 1,687 and 1,700 points, while support is pegged at 1,660 and 1,655 points.
“The broader market is poised for some consolidation following its recent gains, as investors may lock in profits while awaiting fresh catalysts.
