KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened slightly lower on Friday, tracking weaker Wall Street performance overnight and rising oil prices amid no signs of the Middle East crisis easing.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.55 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 1,710.65, after opening 0.6 of-a-point lower at 1,712.60.
Market breadth was negative, with losers outpacing gainers 236 to 102, while 252 counters were unchanged, 2,032 untraded and 22 suspended.
Turnover stood at 149.11 million shares worth RM110.35 million.
Apex Securities Bhd said markets are likely to remain cautious in the near term as investors monitor evolving geopolitical risks.
"Volatility may stay elevated as participants assess potential implications for global energy supply and inflation.
"Nevertheless, any signs of diplomatic de-escalation could help stabilise sentiment and support a gradual recovery in risk assets," it said in a research note.
On sector focus, Apex Securities highlighted a pivot towards energy and export-oriented sectors amid heightened geopolitical risks and crude price volatility.
"US dollar-linked exporters may benefit from ringgit weakness, while banking and REITs remain attractive for their resilient earnings visibility and stable dividend yields," it added.
At the time of writing, Brent crude fell 1.82 per cent to US$83.82 per barrel.
Among heavyweights, IHH Healthcare Bhd advanced five sen to RM9.03, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd rose three sen to RM7.68, Hong Leong Bank Bhd added four sen to RM23.22, SD Guthrie Bhd was flat at RM5.60 and Malayan Banking Bhd slipped two sen to RM11.68.
On the most active list, Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd jumped nine sen to RM1.68, Bumi Armada Bhd fell half-a-sen to 35 sen, GDB Holdings Bhd was flat at 37.5 sen, AirAsia X Bhd trimmed eight sen to RM1.34, Capital A Bhd eased one sen to 44.5 sen and Velesto Energy Bhd fell half-a-sen to 31.5 sen.
Top gainers included Nestle, up 70 sen to RM108.80; Petronas Chemicals, 16 sen to RM3.67; Petronas Dagangan, 12 sen to RM22.32; and MBM Resources, eight sen to RM4.97.
Top losers were Malayan Cement, down 11 sen to RM8.22; KSL, 10 sen to RM3.18; Sunway Construction, nine sen to RM6.71; and Elridge Energy, eight sen to RM1.21.
On the index board, the FBM T100 Index shed 29.2 points to 12,325.68, the FBM Emas Index lost 30.30 points to 12,487.03, the FBM 70 Index fell 87.12 points to 17,100.36, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 23.42 points to 12,150.32, and the FBM ACE Index gave up 45.52 points to 4,450.94.
By sector, the Financial Services Index weakened 65.91 points to 20,786.86, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.31 of-a-point to 174.47, the Energy Index gained 1.33 points to 786.27, and the Plantation Index eased 0.64 of-a-point to 8,186.26.