BURSA Malaysia erased early gains to end flat following a choppy trading session amid cautious investors sentiment on concerns over inflation, a dealer said.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 0.05 of-a-point to 1,431.05 from Wednesday’s close of 1,431.10.
The key index, which opened 3.40 points firmer at 1,434.50, and fluctuated between 1,427.78 and 1,441.47 throughout the day.
On the broader market, losers beat gainers 500 to 348, while 410 counters were unchanged, 1,008 untraded, and nine others suspended.
Total turnover shrank to 2.34 billion units worth RM1.56 bil from 2.72 billion units worth RM1.90 bil on Wednesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the local market was dragged down by selling mainly in energy, industrial products and real estate investment trusts (REITs) stocks.
Regionally, he said the key indices closed mostly higher due to bargain hunting activities after the selloffs on Wednesday.
“Back home, we believe the market undertone will remain cautious amid the increasing regional volatility although bargain hunting activities may prevail,” he told Bernama.
As such, he expects the benchmark index to hover at the 1,425-1,445 range towards the weekend, with immediate support at 1,415 and resistance at 1,490.
Bursa Malaysia heavyweights Maybank shed 4 sen to RM8.56, Petronas Chemicals dipped 15 sen to RM9.15, IHH Healthcare eased 2 sen to RM6.36, while Public Bank and CIMB were both unchanged at RM4.40 and RM4.90, respectively.
Of the actives, YX Precious declined 1 sen to 27 sen, Hibiscus Petroleum shed 5.5 sen to 93.5 sen, Dagang NeXchange eased 1.5 sen to 75.5 sen, Yong Tai was flat at 9 sen, and Widad Group added 1 sen to 37 sen. – June 23, 2022
