Cautious sentiment continues at Bursa Malaysia in early trade

KUALA LUMPUR, August 8 — Bursa Malaysia commenced trading with a cautious tone on Tuesday, as investors' risk appetite was weighed down by the upcoming six state elections this weekend.

At 9:05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) retreated by 3.12 points to 1,442.69 from yesterday's close of 1,445.81.

The key index initially opened 1.6 points lower at 1,444.21.

In the broader market, there were almost an equal number of gainers and losers, with 113 gainers and 118 losers, while 243 counters remained unchanged, 1,816 untraded, and 14 others suspended.

The total turnover recorded was 173.89 million units, amounting to RM58.11 million.

According to a note from Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, the local stock market closed with little change yesterday, as investors opted to remain cautious ahead of the upcoming state elections this weekend.

The securities firm predicts that the subdued trading sentiment will likely continue in the following days, mainly due to the absence of significant new developments or catalysts.

There is a possibility that lower-tier stocks may also experience similar movements, as uncertainty persists regarding the outcome of the state elections.

Looking ahead, market focus will be on the release of Malaysia's industrial production data later today.

According to Malacca Securities, the positive market sentiment on Wall Street could lead to mild gains in Bursa stocks.

Thong Pak Leng, the Vice President of Equity Research at Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, mentioned that the market remains robust, with a continuous accumulation of blue-chip stocks.

As the second-quarter corporate earnings season begins, the focus is expected to shift towards banks, telecommunication companies, and utilities. Market consensus anticipates these sectors to demonstrate substantial earnings growth this year.

Consequently, it is predicted that the index will trend within the range of 1,445 to 1,455 today.

In the heavyweight category, Public Bank and Tenaga added one sen each to reach RM4.14 and RM9.57, respectively. CIMB, on the other hand, dropped two sen to RM5.50, Petronas Chemicals lost four sen to RM6.81, and Maybank remained flat at RM8.92.

Among the actively traded stocks, Classita declined half-a-sen to 13 sen, while VSolar gained 2.5 sen to 31 sen. Tanco, Alam Maritim, and Velesto remained unchanged at 55.5 sen, 3.0 sen, and 24 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index lost 19.66 points to close at 10,598.35, the FBMT 100 Index fell 19.29 points to 10,292.35, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 17.39 points to 10,843.94, and the FBM 70 Index shaved 13.32 points to 13,893.89.

Conversely, the FBM ACE Index gained 2.49 points, closing at 5,255.88.

In terms of sectors, the Financial Services Index declined by 47.02 points to 16,125.23, the Industrial Products and Services Index slightly trimmed 0.42 of a point to 166.04, the Plantation Index decreased by 23.16 points to 7,087.39, while the Energy Index added 1.78 points to 831.32.