KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Thursday as investors remained cautious amid mixed overnight trading on Wall Street and lingering market uncertainties.
Overnight, Wall Street finished mixed as a softer-than-expected inflation reading eased expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike in October, although rising Treasury yields weighed on sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.86% to 50,906.05, the S&P 500 lost 0.25% to 7,651.54, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.24% to 26,861.06.
Domestically, the FBM KLCI fell 3.95 points, or 0.24% to 1,647.22 at 9.07 am. The index opened down 1.3 points at 1,649.87.
Among the decliners, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 18 sen to RM22.02, Heineken Malaysia
and UWC lost 14 sen each to RM13.20 and RM6.93, respectively, while MISC shed nine sen to RM7.55 and Carlsberg Brewery declined eight sen to RM12.28.
In contrast, Keck Seng rose 11 sen to RM5.14, Hengyuan and Petron Malaysia gained seven sen each to RM3.63 and RM3.47, respectively, while Jati Tinggi Group added five sen to RM1.44 and Gamuda advanced four sen to RM5.22.
Berjaya Research Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI’s recovery could extend, although gains are likely to remain choppy amid prevailing market uncertainties.
“Investors will also monitor Malaysia’s Manufacturing PMI and the US ISM Manufacturing PMI data due later tonight for further clues on the health of the manufacturing sector and global growth momentum,” the research house said.
It said the FBM KLCI could extend its recovery, with immediate resistance at 1,663 to 1,670 points, while support remains at 1,640 points, followed by 1,630 points.
“The broader market is expected to remain choppy amid a lack of fresh domestic catalysts.
“Nevertheless, selective trading opportunities present within the fundamentally sound, beaten-down stocks,” Berjaya Research said.
Meanwhile, Malacca Securities expects the FBM KLCI to remain mixed, although stronger semiconductor sentiment could continue to underpin selected technology counters.
It said UWC could attract interest after FY26 net profit surged 132% year-on-year to RM93.8mil, while 4Q26 net profit jumped nearly 130% to RM37.6mil on stronger semiconductor demand and a more favourable product mix.
Kelington Group may also remain in focus after securing a RM172mil contract for an advanced data storage manufacturing facility in Kuching, bringing total awards from the same customer to RM283mil.
Meanwhile, V.S. Industry could draw interest following improved earnings, supported by stronger machine sales.
