KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — Bursa Malaysia edged up 0.04 per cent at the opening on Wednesday amid cautious global market sentiment, despite easing crude oil prices and the absence of local catalysts.

At 9.10 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) perked up 0.68 of a point to 1,676.18 from yesterday’s close of 1,675.50.

The index opened 0.55 of a point higher at 1,676.05.

Losers led gainers in the broader market, by 234 to 129, while 299 counters were unchanged, 2,028 untraded, and 14 suspended.

Turnover stood at 261.0 million shares worth RM115.8 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said market sentiment remains cautious despite the easing crude oil prices, with Brent crude dipping to around the US$91 per barrel.

“We noticed that the broad market is rather well supported at current levels, though the index remained stuck in a correction phase.

“Thus, in the absence of any clear catalysts, we expect the index to oscillate within a narrow range of between 1,670 and 1,680 today,” he added.

Among heavyweights, Maybank gained two sen to RM10.64, Public Bank advanced four sen to RM4.81, Tenaga Nasional improved six sen to RM14.20, but CIMB declined two sen to RM7.35. 

Among the active stocks, Hong Seng Consolidated was flat at 1.5 sen, Tanco was down 7.5 sen to 72.5 sen, Land and General and VS Holdings both lost half-a-sen to 16 sen and 19.5 sen, respectively, while Capital A fell one sen to 40.5 sen.

As for the top gainers, Concrete Engineering was 20 sen higher at RM5.10, Ajinomoto added 12 sen to RM15.60, Itmax and IOI Corporation were five sen higher at RM4.83 and RM4.27, respectively, while KPJ Healthcare and Sarawak Oil Palms were four sen better at RM3.20 and RM4.69, respectively.   

Among the top losers, Nestle was 28 sen lower at RM94.16, MN Holdings warrant was 15 sen lower at RM2.29, Unisem improved 12 sen to RM4.71, Chin Teck erased 10 sen to RM10.80, and Malayan Cement dipped nine sen to RM6.80.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 1.41 points to 12,450.55, while the FBM Top 100 Index eased 2.33 points to 12,289.66, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index edged down 8.34 points to 12,427.04.

The FBM Mid 70 Index gave up 34.77 points to 17,966.99, and the FBM ACE Index was down 19.31 points to 4,708.37.

By sector, the Financial Services Index accumulated 29.59 points to 19,526.47, while the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.55 of a point to 196.13, the Energy Index slid 4.72 points to 782.91, and the Plantation Index trimmed 29.76 points to 8,772.20. — Bernama