KUALA LUMPUR: Trading on Bursa Malaysia was subdued in the early morning session on Wednesday as investors continued to focus on the United States (US) debt ceiling vote, while Wall Street provided little leads following its mixed closing.

At 9.09 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell by 1.25 points to 1,395.66 from 1,396.91 at yesterday's close.

The barometer index opened 1.79 points higher at 1,395.12.

The broader market was negative with decliners beating advancers 183 to 137, while 201 counters were unchanged, 1,727 untraded and 33 others suspended.

Turnover stood at RM292.03 million worth RM125.18 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd noted that the Wall Street ended mixed overnight with the Dow Jones easing 0.2 per cent after the consumer confidence data in May 2023 slipped to a six-month low, while the S&P 500 closed flat. 

In a note today, it said investors may favour the technology sector, given that the Nasdaq rose above the 13,000 level, while the renewable energy counters may shine following the government's move to roll out its Energy Transition Roadmap.

At the same time, it believes that selling pressure may be seen in the energy sector after crude oil prices fell to US$73 per barrel.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president, Thong Pak Leng said domestic sentiments also remained edgy ahead of the state elections, noting the rise in selling activities involving selected banking and plantation heavyweights late in the session yesterday.

"But we reckon bargain hunting activities would emerge if the index touches the 1,390-mark and would advise an accumulation of banking stocks," he said.

In the meantime, heavyweights Maybank gained four sen to RM8.63, while Public Bank, CIMB and Maxis improved two sen to RM3.86, RM4.91 and RM4.29, respectively, and Petronas Chemicals was one sen higher at RM6.76.

Tenaga Nasional eased 10 sen to RM9.52, and CelcomDigi dropped eight sen to RM4.49.

Among the actives, Main Market debutant, Radium Development slipped 11.5 sen to 38.5 sen and Aimflex erased 1.5 sen 15.5 sen, while Revenue Group inched up half-a-sen to 27 sen and MyEG was three sen better at 82 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index went down 5.42 points to 10,273.69, the FBMT 100 Index was 6.65 points weaker at 9,976.25, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 23.52 points to 10,630.89 and the FBM ACE Index was 42.40 points lower at 4,924.69, while FBM 70 Index recovered 0.50 points to 13,551.39.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index grew 50.77 points to 15,320.07, while the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.33 of-a-point to 162.19, the Plantation Index slid 47.23 points to 6,700.27, and the Energy Index went down 9.29 points to 817.75.

 - BERNAMA