BURSA Malaysia ended the day mixed, with the key index on positive territory lifted by selected heavyweights.
At 5 pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI gained 2.73 points or 0.17% to 1,569.87 from 1,567.14 at Monday’s closing.
The key index opened 4.89 points higher at 1,572.03 and moved between 1,568.67 and 1,583.43 throughout the day.
Market breadth was also negative with losers outpacing gainers 677 to 485, while 466 counters were unchanged, 525 untraded and 14 others suspended.
Total volume rose to 12.89 billion units worth RM6.42 bil from Monday’s 10.69 billion units worth RM6.10 bil.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee said selling activities emerged in late trading due to profit-taking activities.
“The market started off very well today and later we saw sellers emerged again, taking profit from today’s high. At the same time, we saw continued selling in rubber glove companies,” he told Bernama.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will hold its second Monetary Policy Meeting this year on Thursday, during which market observers said the central bank would likely maintain the current overnight policy rate (OPR) at 1.75%.
“I do not think there will be changes in the rates by BNM. There is no need to cut the rates again because we are now on a recovery stage. Maybe they will look at how it goes as we are now at the vaccination stage.
“Perhaps the central bank would want to look at the recovery first before they do anything on the interest rates,” said Yee.
Glove makers Top Glove Corp Bhd trimmed 15 sen to RM4.75, Supermax Corp Bhd declined 25 sen to RM4.11 but Hartalega Holdings Bhd rose three sen to RM9.41.
Other heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd, Public Bank Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd added two sen each to RM8.08, RM4.22, and RM7.53 respectively, while Tenaga Nasional Bhd rose four sen to RM10.36, IHH Healthcare Bhd jumped 21 sen to RM5.50, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd was six sen higher to RM4.28 and Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd fell five sen to RM9.70.
Of the actives, Aimflex Bhd improved six sen to 31.5 sen, Straits Inter Logistics Bhd went up one sen to 21 sen, Grand-Flo Bhd advanced 23.5 sen to 68 sen, GFM Services Bhd eased 12.5 sen to 28 sen, AirAsia X Bhd edged down half-a-sen to nine sen and AT Systematization Bhd decreased one sen to 11.5 sen. – March 2, 2021
