KUALA LUMPUR (June 30): Bursa Malaysia was almost flat at the opening on Thursday (June 30) as traders were cautious amid the weaker Wall Street performance overnight, said analysts.

At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI had gained 0.95 of a point to 1,452.43 from Wednesday's close at 1,451.48. 

The benchmark index opened 4.02 points better at 1,455.50.

On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 119 to 97, while 177 counters were unchanged, 1,889 untraded and 65 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 93.22 million units worth RM50.15 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said major indices on Wall Street struggled to make a significant rebound, with sentiments remaining jittery due to recession fears.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 82.32 points, the S&P 500 eased by 2.72 points and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 3.65 points, while the US Treasury 10-year yield edged lower to 3.09%. 

Back home, he said that trading on the local bourse is expected to stay wary on Thursday due to a lack of catalysts.

“As such, we expect the key index to move within the 1,440-1,460 range," Thong told Bernama.

He noted that crude palm oil prices had eased to RM5,080 per tonne due to weaker export data, and Brent crude also ended lower at US$116 (about RM510.78) per barrel on news that the US may release more oil from its stockpile.

Among the heavyweights, Hartalega Holdings Bhd and Sime Darby Plantation Bhd rose eight sen each to RM3.03 and RM4.41 respectively, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd added three sen to RM18.90, MR DIY Group (M) Bhd eased two sen to RM2.03, Top Glove Corp Bhd shed one sen to RM1.11, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) declined seven sen to RM8.58 and Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) fell three sen to RM5.20. 

Of the actives, Cypark Resources Bhd weakened three sen to 35 sen, Reach Energy Bhd was flat at 5.5 sen, MN Holdings Bhd slid one sen to 22 sen and Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) eased half a sen to 78.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose by 5.99 points to 10,355.66, the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 17.55 points to 10,556.80, FBM 70 was 5.46 points higher at 12,508.53, FBM ACE contracted 17.49 points to 4,822.60 and the FBMT 100 Index perked 6.09 points to 10,093.98.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index shed 20.29 points to 16,042.58, while the Plantation Index was up 46.67 points to 7,017.31, and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.83 of a point stronger at 182.11.