KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened marginally higher but retreated thereafter as mild bargain hunting interspersed with profit-taking amid uncertainties surrounding the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic, analysts said.
At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 0.24% or 3.78 points to 1,532.02 from Tuesday’s close of 1,535.80.
The benchmark index opened 3.84 points higher at 1,539.64.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 223 to 90, with 176 counters unchanged, 1,488 untraded and 21 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 225.69 million shares worth RM118.08 mil.
In a research note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said there appears to be more upside potential over the near term with the emergence of bargain hunting activities after the recent sell down.
“However, we also think that the gains may be tempered by the still uncertain developments over the 2019-nCoV outbreak that saw the number of casualties still on the rise.
“On the upside, we think the key index could retest the 1,550 resistance, which is followed by the 1,560 level. The supports, on the other hand, are at 1,515 and 1,500 respectively,” said the stockbroking company today.
Yesterday, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad announced the first Malaysian who tested positive for 2019-nCoV.
The 41-year-old man was one of the two new positive cases, bringing the number of coronavirus cases in Malaysia to 10 so far.
The other case, according to the minister, involved a 63-year-old man from China who arrived at the KL International Airport on Jan 18.
In China alone, authorities recorded about 24,300 cases related to the epidemic with 490 deaths as of last night.
Among heavyweights, AmBank and Sime Darby Plantation fell seven sen each to RM3.73 and RM5.01 respectively, Digi shed five sen to RM4.35 while PetGas added 24 sen to RM16.70 and Dialog rose four sen to RM3.35.
Of the actives, Securemetric and Binasat increased two sen each to 22 sen and 48.5 sen each while AirAsia Group was flat at RM1.15.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 6.67 points to 10,896.16, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 9.93 points to 11,634.28 and the FBMT 100 Index bagged 10.47 points to 10,706.13.
The FBM 70 was 52.10 points stronger at 13,637.56, and the FBM Ace recovered 35.55 points to 5,391.55.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.30 point to 144.03, the Financial Services Index was 61.02 points lower at 14,621.70 and the Plantation Index eased 20.59 points to 7,124.20. – Feb 5, 2020, Bernama
