KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia slid sideways at the opening bell following a mixed performance on Wall Street overnight as investors stayed cautious ahead of the corporate earnings period.
The benchmark FBM KLCI rose 1.67 points to 1,644.21 at the start of trading with Hong Leong Bank lifting the index.
Gaining 14 sen to RM21.32, the bank heavyweight outpaced its sector peers including Maybank, up two sen to RM10.64 and CIMB rising one sen to RM8.17.
Gamuda shares were seen climbing 26 sen to RM8.80, building on the buying momentum following yesterday's announcement it had secured a RM4.3bil mass rapid transit project in Taiwan.
Some other leading gainers included Atlan up 17 sen to RM2.75 and United Plantation climbing 16 sen to RM26.28.
Top actives on the market included Ingenieur gaining 0.5 sen to 5.5 sen, Capital A rising one sen to 98.5 sen and Dataprep unchanged at 17 sen.
Malacca Securities Research said it anticipates investors may shift their attention to the export-oriented sectors such as gloves and technology as the ringgit weakened from RM4.10 to RM4.325 against the US dollar.
"Also, the rebound in oil prices and the CPO breakout may attract traders to the O&G and Plantation sectors.
On the Budget 2025, we also see opportunities in construction, property, and renewable energy sectors.
