KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia retreated from yesterday’s gains to open lower today due to profit-taking amidst Wall Street’s bearish performance overnight.
At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 4.17 points to 1,447.10 from 1,451.27 at yesterday’s close.
The key index opened 3.06 points lower at 1,448.21.
The broader market was also negative as decliners surpassed advancers 214 to 138, while 248 counters were unchanged, 1,705 untraded and 71 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 286.57 million units worth RM128.95 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng told Bernama that traders remain optimistic about the United States’ (US) economy as its gross domestic product rose by 2.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2023, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of economic growth.
Back home, he believes that banking stocks will remain in favour, adding that the government’s move to allow trading in fractional shares or in smaller lots should boost interest in blue chips that will enhance market velocity, going forward.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the government will allow the trading of smaller share lots and fractional shares as part of efforts to revive Malaysia’s capital market.
“Thus, we reckon that the index may possibly stage another interesting performance today and expect it to hover within the 1,445-1,460 range,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added one sen to RM9.00, while Public Bank and CIMB slid four sen each to RM4.07 and RM5.46, respectively, Tenaga Nasional declined six sen to RM9.54 sen and Petronas Chemicals erased five sen to RM6.76.
Of the actives, Capital A bagged four sen to RM9.55, Tanco Holdings perked half-a-sen to 56.5 sen, AirAsia X widened 18 sen to RM2.51 and GDB Holdings expanded 1.5 sen to 22.5 sen while Hong Seng Consolidated shed half-a-sen to eight sen.
On the index board, the FBM 70 Index perked 19.69 points to 13,971.41, while the FBM Emas Index slid 19.51 points to 10,641.87, the FBMT 100 Index was 19.05 points lower at 10,330.10, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 3.44 points to 10,926.02, and the FBM ACE Index trimmed 32.98 points to 5,298.56.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index increased by 0.87 of-a-point to 7,206.42, while the Financial Services Index slipped 56.88 points to 16,108.00, the Industrial Products and Services Index narrowed 0.44 of-a-point to 166.66, and the Energy Index eased 0.18 of-a-point to 836.51. – BERNAMA
