Bursa ends lower, World Bank’s GDP revision affects sentiment

BURSA Malaysia closed lower today despite the uptrend among regional peers, as the World Bank’s move to revise the nation’s growth projection downward curbed investors’ risk appetite for the local bourse.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell by 9.05 points to end the day at 1,555.71 from Wednesday’s close of 1,564.76.

The market bellwether, which opened 1.2 points better at 1,565.96, fluctuated between 1,554.15 and 1,567.59 throughout the day.

On the broader market, losers hammered gainers 917 to 188, while 373 counters were unchanged, 735 untraded and 10 others suspended.

Turnover decreased marginally to 5.21 billion units worth RM3.03 bil today, from 5.22 billion units valued at RM2.78 bil yesterday.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the FBM KLCI index closed 0.6% lower amidst concerns over the revised economic outlook and sell-off in the rubber glove counters.

He said Hartalega and Top Glove topped the losers list among the 30-index constituents, declining by 4.1% and 2.3%, respectively, as the daily vaccination doses administered in the country rose to 252,773 doses on June 23 from 250,529 doses the previous day.

“The overall sentiment remained suppressed as there seems to be no sign of a slowdown in new COVID-19 cases which hit 5,841 today, higher than 5,244 cases recorded yesterday.

“Nevertheless, maybe the selling due to the GDP revision today will give rise to some bargain hunting tomorrow,” he told Bernama.

Adam also said concerns about heightened inflationary pressures resurfaced in the market as United States Federal Reserve (US Fed) officials said the high inflation in the country could last longer than anticipated, just a day after US Fed’s chair Jerome Powell reassured that price pressures were manageable.

On a sectoral basis, the Bursa Malaysia Energy index registered the highest drop among the sectors, falling by 1.5% despite Brent oil price hitting US$75 per barrel.

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank slipped one sen to RM4.18, Tenaga shed six sen to RM9.87, IHH lost 11 sen to RM5.61, while Maybank and PetChem were flat at RM8.20 and RM8, respectively.

Of the actives, Serba Dinamik slid six sen to 53.5 sen, Fintec and DNex inched down half-a-sen each to three sen and 76 sen, respectively, KNM slipped 1.5 sen to 16.5 sen, while MMAG added half-a-sen to 16.5 sen. – June 24, 2021

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