Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Monday, tracking broader weakness across Asian markets as escalating Middle East tensions pushed oil prices higher and dampened risk appetite.
At 9.08am, the FBM KLCI fell 2.87 points to 1,683.87, with selling pressure seen among several blue-chip counters.
Apex Securities expects the index to remain cautious to negative in the near term as external headwinds continue to outweigh resilient domestic fundamentals.
“Renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, elevated crude oil prices and higher global bond yields are likely to keep risk appetite subdued, particularly for rate-sensitive and energy-intensive sectors,” it said in a note reported by The Star.
The research house said Wall Street’s rebound on Friday could provide some support to local equities, although the escalation in geopolitical risks over the weekend may limit follow-through buying.
It expects investors to focus on this week’s economic data and central bank decisions, with market volatility likely to remain elevated.
“Overall, we expect market volatility to remain high, with the KLCI likely to consolidate until there is greater clarity on the trajectory of global rates and the Middle East conflict.”
Among blue chips, IOI Properties fell six sen to RM3.58, while YTL Power shed seven sen to RM5.63 and Petronas Dagangan dropped eight sen to RM20.56.
Among actively traded counters, Zetrix was flat at 35 sen, AHB rose 0.5 sen to six sen while Luster was unchanged at 3.5 sen.
