Malaysia's Stock Market Opens Broadly Lower

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 (Bernama) – The Malaysian stock market (Bursa Malaysia) opened broadly lower again Tuesday on profit-taking across-the-board, while tracking the the steep overnight correction on Wall Street, dealers said. At 9.05 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,818.45, down 34.62 points from Monday's close of 1,853.07. It opened 38.64 points lower at 1,814.43. Losers led gainers 766 to 27, while 112 counters were unchanged, 939 untraded and 23 others suspended. Turnover stood at 442.32 million shares worth RM166.65 million. It was reported that the US market wipe-out was sparked by a fast rise in interest rates, with US 10-year bond yields reaching a four-year high. US stocks plunged in highly volatile trading on Monday, with both the S&P 500 and Dow Industrial indices slumping more than 4.0 percent. In a research note Tuesday, Maybank Investment Bank Research said another bloodbath is expected today amid further losses on Wall Street. It said weaker oil prices could also weigh on the stock market. "Technically, we expect the FBM KLCI to trade between the 1,830 and 1,860 level today. Downside supports are 1,840 and 1,812," said the research firm in a note today. Among Bursa Malaysia's heavyweights, Maybank, which weighted 10.43 points in the composite index, fell 10 sen to RM9.92. Tenaga was down 20 sen to RM15.62, Public Bank lost 38 sen to RM21.60 and CIMB declined 22 sen to RM6.87. Of the actives, Sumatec and AirAsia X each dropped by one sen to 6.5 sen and 38 sen, respectively, while EA Holdings was flat at four sen. Topping the top losers counters, Dutch Lady Milk Industries fell RM2.62 to RM61.22, KESM eased RM1.36 to RM17.84 and BAT dipped 82 sen to RM32.50. The FBM Emas Index went down 295.77 points to 12,924.92 and the FBMT 100 Index slid 277.54 points to 12,648 with the FBM 70 shrinking 469.81 points to 15,732.33. The FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 314.50 points to 13,174.92 and the FBM Ace weakened by 208.95 points to 6,142.48. Sector-wise, the Finance Index eased 333.85 points to 17,419.83, the Plantation Index slipped 68.25 points to 7,914.75 and the Industrial Index contracted 66.73 points to 3,265.83. -- BERNAMA