BURSA Malaysia bucked the regional market trend to end lower today, weighed down by profit-taking in selected heavyweights amid uncertainties surrounding the market.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 2.46 points lower at 1,512.93 compared with Wednesday’s close of 1,515.39.
The index opened 0.42 of-a-point easier at 1,514.97 and moved between 1,511.51 and 1,520.04 throughout the session.
On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 636 versus 350, while 398 counters were unchanged, 837 untraded, and 80 others suspended.
Turnover rose to 4.48 billion units valued at RM2.86 bil from Wednesday’s 3.65 billion units valued at RM2.16 bil.
A dealer said the local bourse opened easier but rebounded thereafter to stay mostly positive throughout the morning session, but succumbed to selling pressure in the second-half session amid political uncertainty.
Bursa Malaysia bucked its regional peers which were mostly higher after the US Federal Reserve kept its current policy stance unchanged, acknowledging improvements in the nation’s economy, while boosting the prospects of a faster global economic rebound, he noted.
“Investors were also cautious amid lingering concerns due to the high COVID-19 infections while keeping vigilant over political developments raised during the Special Parliament sitting today,” he told Bernama.
Regionally, the Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 1.05% to 3,174.76, South Korea’s Kospi improved 0.18% to 3,242.65, Japan’s Nikkei 225 increased 0.73% to 27,782.42, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 3.30% to 26,315.32.
Meanwhile, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim added that Asian peers ended higher after investors’ nerves were calmed after China’s securities regulator held a virtual meeting on Wednesday night with executives of top global investment banks.
“Domestically, the slight fall in Malaysia’s daily COVID-19 cases to 17,170 from a record high of 17,405 yesterday was not enough to revive positivity in the market,” he noted.
Of the heavyweights, Public Bank Bhd shed two sen to RM3.99, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) slipped five sen to RM9.73, and IHH Healthcare Bhd eased one sen to RM5.79.
Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd perked up 12 sen to RM8.11 while Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) was flat at RM8.04.
Among the actives, Euro Holdings Bhd rose 15.5 sen to 87 sen, Tanco Holdings Bhd bagged 4.5 sen to 21 sen, PUC Bhd added one sen to 19 sen, Kanger International Bhd edged up half-a-sen to 6.5 sen, while Solution Group Bhd slid one sen to 89 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 20.45 points to 11,071.77, the FBMT 100 Index went down 16.19 points to 10,782.87, the FBM 70 slipped 16.72 points to 14,542.25, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 27.97 points lower at 12,169.62, and the FBM ACE dropped 99.59 points to 7,140.59.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.03 of-a-point to 187.99 and the Financial Services Index slipped 15.05 points to 14,780.29 but the Plantation Index rose 22.33 points to 6,192.35.
Main Market volume expanded to 2.76 billion shares valued at RM2.27 bil from Wednesday’s 2.08 billion shares valued at RM1.68 bil.
Warrants turnover widened to 342.22 million units worth RM53.73 mil from 314.96 million units worth RM54.30 mil yesterday.
Volume on the ACE Market rose to 1.37 billion shares valued at RM536.16 mil from 1.25 billion shares valued at RM423.39 mil on Wednesday.
Consumer products and services accounted for 771.62 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (695.91 million), construction (109.71 million), technology (403.26 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (139.47 million), property (276.08 million), plantation (20.73 million), REITs (6.27 million), closed/fund (10,900), energy (165.71 million), healthcare (71.46 million), telecommunications and media (43.88 million), transportation and logistics (46.80 million), and utilities (7.48 million). – July 29, 2021
