FBM KLCI slips at open as Wall Street pullback weighs

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI slipped at the opening bell on Tuesday, tracking the overnight pullback on Wall Street amid cautious sentiment.

The benchmark index fell 2.37 points, or 0.15% to 1,625.06 at 9.19 am. The index opened at 1,627.00, down 0.43 of a point.

Among the early gainers, Oriental Holdings rose nine sen to RM6.81, 99 Speed Mart added six sen to RM3.31, MNRB gained six sen to RM2.08 and Sarawak Oil Palms climbed five sen to RM3.78.

On the other hand, Malaysian Pacific Industries slid 60 sen to RM30.90, Heineken lost 38 sen to RM22.44, SAM Engineering fell 27 sen to RM4.04, and PPB Group declined 26 sen to RM11.34.

Newly listed PMW International fell 5.88%, or two sen to 32 sen with 44.36 million shares traded.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.18% to 46,590.24, the S&P 500 lost 0.92% to 6,672.41 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.84% to 22,708.08.

Berjaya Research Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI is expected to stay directionless as investors continue to navigate a landscape shaped by global macroeconomic uncertainties.

The research house noted that lingering worries over the Federal Reserve’s policy path, soft economic data — including Japan’s 0.4% year-on-year GDP contraction in 3Q2025 — and another AI-led sell-off on Wall Street overnight are likely to sustain the risk-off mood.

“While selective accumulation of index heavyweights may still offer periodic support to the FBM KLCI, upside potential is expected to remain limited in the absence of clearer macro catalysts.

“Technically, the FBM KLCI has formed an inverted hammer candlestick after reversing most of its intraday gains,” Berjaya Research said.

It said that with the key index attempting to establish some stability, the 1,622-point level will serve as the immediate support, followed by 1,615 points.

Meanwhile, the immediate resistance remains at 1,638 points, with the next resistance at 1,650 points.

Rakuten Trade said the FBM KLCI managed to stay above water yesterday despite a strong morning session.

“We suspect foreign funds may be locking in some profits reflecting their short-term vision,” it said.

Nonetheless, it said regional sentiment remains broadly positive as most Southeast Asian markets continue to benefit from attractive valuations.

“For today, we expect the index to trend between the 1,625-1,635 range,” it added.