Bursa Malaysia closed marginally lower after a lacklustre trading session as investors seemed reluctant to make more significant moves in the absence of buying catalysts, said a dealer.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 3.51 points to 1,549.90 from 1,553.41 at Wednesday’s close.
The index, which was 1.31 points firmer at 1,554.72, moved between 1,546.29 and 1,555.54 throughout the day.
Market breadth was negative with losers leading gainers 481 to 423, while 383 counters were unchanged, 956 untraded, and 17 others suspended.
Total turnover was slightly lower at 2.49 billion units worth RM1.90 bil from 2.57 billion units worth RM2.49 bil on Wednesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said regionally, the key indices ended broadly lower as investors fretted about the impending higher interest rates and rising coronavirus cases in parts of the region.
Growing fears of the global recession continued to weigh on regional markets, he added.
Back home, despite the cautious market undertone and increased volatility on the FBM KLCI, Thong believes bargain hunting will prevail given the cheap valuations of local stocks, accompanied by the continuous inflow of foreign funds, and the improving macroeconomic situation in the country.
“As such, we expect the benchmark index to trend slightly higher within the 1,545-1,560 range towards the weekend, with immediate resistance at 1,575 and support at 1,530,” he told Bernama.
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose 5 sen to RM8.94, IHH Healthcare added 4 sen to RM6.54, both Public Bank and CIMB lost 2 sen each to RM4.61 and RM5.18, respectively, and Petronas Chemicals fell 7 sen to RM9.99.
Of the actives, Sapura Energy slid 1 sen to 6 sen, MNC Wireless and Yong Tai decreased half-a-sen each to 1.5 sen and 9.5 sen, respectively, Top Glove was down 11 sen to RM1.26, while Widad was flat at 36 sen.
On the index board, the FBM 70 advanced 32.42 points to 13,267.05, the FBM ACE climbed 52.75 points to 5,236.40, while the FBMT 100 Index lost 12.57 points to 10,756.21, the FBM Emas Index slipped 12.89 points to 11,057.90, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index retreated 16.90 points to 11,396.60.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index trimmed 0.31 of-a-point to 200.35, the Plantation Index dipped 34.50 points to 7,902.05, and the Financial Services Index declined 0.32 of-a-point to 16,746.26. – June 2, 2022
