BURSA Malaysia ended the morning session down 2.13% as overall trading was in consolidation mode due to rising tensions between the United States and China trade over Covid-19 as well as weaker manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 29.92 points to 1,377.86 from Friday’s close of 1,407.78, after opening 18.95 points easier at 1,388.83.
It moved between 1,375.39 and 1,388.83 in the morning session.
Market breadth was negative as losers thumped gainers 581 to 217, while 317 counters were unchanged, 754 untraded and 17 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 3.18 billion shares worth RM1.32 bil.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said a consolidation was in store after Bursa Malaysia racked up more than 4% gains in April with the key index teetering near the overbought zone, while the barrage of sluggish economic and renewed trade tensions between the US and China may also serve as an excuse for profit taking.
“For now, we think that the pullback will be mild, with key support located towards the 1,380 and 1,360 levels, respectively.
“On the upside, gains are likely to be capped towards the 1,430 level, should the 1,400 psychological level continue to hold,” it said in a note today.
On heavyweight counters, Maybank trimmed 19 sen to RM7.38, Tenaga slipped 14 sen to RM12,10, Public Bank lost 40 sen to RM15.98, IHH Healthcare declined nine sen to RM5.16, Petronas Chemicals shed 20 sen to RM5.40 and Maxis eased 16 sen to RM5.32.
As for the actives, Ucrest jumped seven sen to 16.5 sen, Key Asic gained three sen to 8.5 sen, Nova MSC went up 2.5 sen to 7.5 sen, Hibiscus Petroleum inched up half-a-sen to 49.5 sen, Netx and Lambo were flat at 1.0 sen and 1.5 sen, respectively, while Key Alliance edged down half-a-sen to 9.0 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 171.29 points easier at 9,637.29, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 173.56 points to 9,503.65, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 186.32 points to 10,703.82, the FBM ACE slid 10.81 points to 4,784.29 while the FBM 70 went down 76.18 points to 11,584.05.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dropped 235.01 points to 12,237.9, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 2.02 points to 118.42, while the Plantation Index shrank 127.14 points to 6,233.88. — May 4, 2020, Bernama
