BURSA Malaysia closed broadly lower on selling in heavyweights led by Petronas Chemicals and Press Metal Aluminium, amid a mixed regional market performance due to uncertainties and heightened market volatility, dealers said.
The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 10.70 points or 0.67% lower to 1,585.98 from Tuesday’s close of 1,596.68.
The index opened 5.03 points weaker at 1,591.65 and moved between 1,585.17 and 1,593.34 throughout the day.
Market breadth was broadly negative with losers surpassing gainers 645 to 300, while 425 counters were unchanged, 921 untraded, and 43 others suspended.
Total turnover fell marginally to 2.21 billion units worth RM1.89 bil from 2.25 billion units worth RM1.92 bil on Tuesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the key regional markets ended mixed due to mixed sentiment amid the increasing global market risks.
Shanghai’s SSE Composite meanwhile rebounded strongly to close higher as investors took the opportunity to bargain hunt for cheaper stocks following the recent sell-down.
“On the domestic front, we expect the FBM KLCI to remain in consolidation mode over the short term due to many uncertainties and heightened market volatility.
“We foresee the benchmark index to move within the 1,580-1,600 range for the remaining week with immediate resistance at 1,615 and support at 1,580,” he told Bernama.
Thong said, additionally, the index is seemingly quite well supported at the 1,580 level, hence, expects the accumulation of stocks to persist on dips.
Across the region, the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.07% to 3,319.82, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 1.17% to 26,386.63, South Korea’s Kospi decreased 1.10% to 2,639.06, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite soared 2.49% to 2,958.28, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index marginally higher by 0.06% to 19,946.36.
On the local bourse, heavyweights Maybank gained 3 sen to RM8.98, Public Bank fell 1 sen to RM4.71, Petronas Chemicals was down 30 sen to RM9.92, IHH Healthcare slipped 8 sen to RM6.57, and CIMB lost 4 sen to RM5.15.
Of the actives, Cheetah rose 3 sen to 20.5 sen, Vizione added 1 sen to 10.5 sen and its warrants gained half-a-sen to 2 sen, while both Techna-X and Dagang NeXchange were flat at 11 sen and RM1.02, respectively.
Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries will be closed on May 2, 2022 (Monday) in conjunction with the Labour Day replacement holiday.
The exchange will also be closed for two days starting on May 3 (Tuesday) in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays.
“Bursa Malaysia and its subsidiaries will resume operations on May 5, 2022 (Thursday),” the exchange said in a statement today. – April 27, 2022
