KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI opened lower on Friday as investors took profit while evaluating the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook in light of recent inflation and labour market data.
The market bellwether declined 0.87 of a point, or 0.05% to 1,640.07. It opened 5.15 points lower at 1,635.79.
Public Bank and LPI Capital, which resumed trading today after being suspended for two days since Oct 9, traded lower on their resumption of trading.
The bank fell 16 sen, or 3.5%, to RM4.41 with 27.1 million shares traded, while LPI slid 40 sen, or 3.08%, to RM12.58 with 410,500 shares exchanged.
Other decliners on Bursa Malaysia include Can-One
, which fell nine sen to RM2.60, and Frontken, which lost eight sen to RM3.70.
Among the gainers, Nestle surged RM1.70 to RM105.40, Hong Leong Bank gained 14 sen to RM21.24, PETRONAS Gas rose 12 sen to RM17.64 and Hong Leong Industries added 12 sen to RM14.10.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 57.88 points, or 0.14%, to 42,454.12, the S&P 500 lost 11.99 points, or 0.21%, to 5,780.05 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 9.57 points, or 0.05%, to 18,282.05.
Public Invest Research noted that the FBM KLCI might open lower today as US stocks edged back from their records Thursday after reports showed inflation was a touch warmer last month than expected and more workers filed for unemployment benefits last week.
Inter-Pacific Research said cautious market conditions are expected to persist in the near term, despite yesterday’s recovery, as the wait-and-see approach continues for now.
The research house said this could also see some quick profit-taking activities emerging, but speculation over China’s stimulus measures may still provide a reason for market players to keep invested for longer.
“Therefore, any pullback may be shallow with bouts of bargain hunting to maintain much of the key index’s recovery from the 1,630 level.
“Nevertheless, significant upsides could be difficult to come by due to the low market participation and the 1,645 level would still be the immediate hurdle, followed by the psychological 1,650 level. The supports, meanwhile, are at 1,635 and 1,630 points respectively,” it said.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Research noted that after a healthy pullback from the year-to-date high of 1,684 to a low of 1,625 on Oct 4, the KLCI has been consolidating upward, closing at 1,640.9 yesterday.
“Nevertheless, the index could face choppy trading ahead of the Budget 2025 announcement on Oct 18 (support: 1,606-1,625; resistance: 1,652-1,659-1,684), given the weak buying momentum as investors weigh big banks earnings, lingering geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and expectations of fresh stimulus from China’s MOF briefing tomorrow,” it added.
