Bursa Malaysia ended lower across the board, in tandem with regional peers, extending its losses for the sixth consecutive day amid the negative sentiment surrounding the region.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed 14.15 points weaker at 1,509.71 from Wednesday’s close of 1,523.86.
The benchmark index opened 0.55 of-a-point easier at 1,523.31, moved between 1,508.0 and 1,526.83 throughout the trading session.
On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 601 to 315, while 394 counters were unchanged, 964 untraded and 10 others suspended.
Total turnover decreased to 2.88 billion units worth RM2.06 bil compared with 3.26 billion units worth RM1.96 bil on Wednesday.
A dealer said Bursa Malaysia opened easier this morning and continued to trend lower till the end of the morning session weighed down by persistent selling in heavyweight stocks.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama that key regional indices closed broadly negative as investors remained worried about potential recession in the US, Europe other regional countries caused by interest rate hikes.
He said the the sentiment was further exacerbated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warning that the world economy will pay a “hefty price” for the war in Ukraine including weaker growth, stronger inflation and persistent damage to supply chains.
“Back home, the FBM KLCI has broken the 1,550 and 1,520 supports in just a few trading days and is inching towards the critical 1,500 support level.
“We reckoned the local market would face some headwinds due to lack of buying support amid the heightened regional market volatility. As such, we expect the benchmark index to hover between the 1,500 to1,515 range towards the weekend,” he added.
Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 0.66% to 3,204.38, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.04% to 28,246.53, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng eased 0.66% to 21,869.05, South Korea’s KOSPI slid 0.03% to 2,625.44, and China’s SSE Composite Index reduced 0.76% to 3,238.95.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank eased 4 sen to RM8.80, Petronas Chemicals fell 21 sen to RM9.64, IHH Healthcare slipped 13 sen to RM6.40 while Public Bank and CIMB were flat at RM4.57 and RM5.07 respectively.
Of the actives, Yew Lee Pacific added 1.5 sen to 30.5 sen, EA Holdings and Green Packet eased half-a-sen each to 1 sen and 7 sen respectively, LGMS declined 13 sen to 71.5 sen, while Dynaciate was flat at 14.5 sen. – June 9, 2022
