Bursa starts on uptrend but fails to sustain momentum
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia started the day with a marginal gain but retreated within minutes, taking the cue from the poor performance on Wall Street.
Persistent worries over interest rates weighed down on market sentiments in the US.
At 9.15am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.81 points to 1,468.94 from yesterday’s close of 1,470.75.
The key index opened 0.55 points higher at 1,471.30.
Market breadth was negative, with losers surpassing gainers 228 to 133, while 274 counters were unchanged, 1,539 were not traded and 22 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 401.41 million units worth RM154.90 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd noted that foreign investors continued to dump their holdings on the local bourse, accumulating a net sale of RM407 million over a five-day period.
It said that while bargain-hunting could emerge after a two-day selldown, the overall market overtone would remain cautious given Wall Street’s negative performance overnight.
However, it added, the oil and gas sector is likely to stay firm amid the elevated crude oil price. The Brent crude price stayed above US$83 per barrel while the crude palm oil price hovered closer to RM4,000 per tonne.
“On the other hand, volatility within the technology sector may continue as the Nasdaq has fallen below the critical 12,000-point level overnight,” the brokerage said.
It expects investors to focus on defensive sectors such as real estate investment trusts and utilities to withstand the near-term volatility.
Meanwhile, Bursa heavyweights Maybank rose a sen to RM8.65, CIMB shed four sen to RM5.36 and TNB eased one sen to RM9.50, while both Public Bank and Petronas Chemicals were flat at RM4.12 and RM8.25, respectively.
As for the actives, MyEG Services added 1.5 sen to 73 sen and MLABS Systems edged up half-a-sen to 2.5 sen, while ATA IMS lost 1.5 sen to 34 sen, Iris Corporation slid a sen to 13.5 sen and Hong Seng Consolidated was flat at 20 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was down by 16.09 points to 10,723.50, the FBMT 100 Index weakened 15.62 points to 10,390.58, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 10.64 points to 11,088.05, the FBM 70 Index shed 32.55 points to 13,656.58 and the FBM ACE Index trimmed 7.42 points to 5,782.42.
Sector-wise, the industrial products and services index eased 0.10 of-a-point to 189.88, the energy index narrowed 5.90 points to 887.92 and the financial services index declined 24.33 points to 15,930.23.
However, the plantation index garnered 3.14 points to 6,903.46.
