BURSA Malaysia gave up earlier gains to slip lower for a fourth straight day as investors brushed off the country’s stronger-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) data in the first quarter of 2023 (1Q 2023) with a 5.6% expansion year-on-year (y-o-y), thereby beating consensus expectations.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong said, however, the GDP performance was at a slower pace compared with 4Q 2022, which recorded a growth of 7.1% y-o-y.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased by 0.15%, or 2.26 points, to close at its intraday low of 1,422.92 from Thursday’s (May 11) close of 1,425.18.
The barometer index opened slightly higher at 1,426.48 and hit an intraday high of 1,429.92 in the morning session.
The market breadth was negative with losers beating gainers 500 to 346, while 417 counters were unchanged, 998 untraded and 32 others suspended.
Turnover decreased to 2.74 billion units valued at RM1.77 bil from 3.39 billion units valued at RM1.62 bil on Thursday. — May 12, 2023
