KUALA LUMPUR: Technology stocks on Bursa Malaysia saw selling pressure on Thursday following the sharp retreat in global technology stocks amid rising geopolitical concerns.
Tracking the sharp sell-off in heavyweight US tech plays, the Bursa Malaysia tech index gapped down at the open and fell 1.8% in the opening minutes of trade.
Among the leading laggards, Pentamaster fell 15 sen to RM5.11, Greatec dropped 12 sen to RM5.38 and Vitrox shaved 12 sen to RM4.24.
However, the market's blue chips were seen faring better as the FBM KLCI rose 0.16 points to 1,633.70 at the start of trading.
In a note, Apex Securities Research said the local stock market may take a breather after yesterday's gains, reflecting jittery sentiment from external markets due to rising geopolitical concerns.
"We expect profit-taking activities at the current resistance level of 1,630 pts, influenced by Wall Street's performance.
"Domestically, the technology sector may face selling pressure, mirroring the Nasdaq's performance," it said.
Overnight, the Nasdaq index plunged 2.77% as investors rotated out of the Big Tech to smaller firms in anticipation of lower lending costs and the US considering new chipmaking equipment export controls to China.
The decline in tech was exacerbated by presidential candidate Donald Trump's remarks that it might call for Taiwan to pay the US for defence, which triggered a sell-off in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) earlier in the day.
However, Apex said the selling in tech counters could ease in the afternoon as TSMC is expected to provide a positive outlook in its quarterly results.
Meanwhile, the research firm said local energy and plantation sectors are likely to see improved trading as funds rotate out of tech stocks.
Oil and gas counters are poised to benefit due to the higher oil prices and plantations stocks bolstered by supply concerns and better export sales to China.
On the blue-chip index, Press Metal
dove 17 sen to RM5.82, YTL Power dropped seven sen to RM4.88 and Tenaga Nasional dropped six sen to RM14.44.
Of actives, Hubline was up 0.5 sen to 8.5 sen, Ekovest rose 0.5 sen to 56 sen and Fajar Baru gained two sen to 56 sen.
