BURSA Malaysia snapped a three-day winning streak to end in the red today, dragged by selling in selected heavyweights led by Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd and Public Bank Bhd.
Press Metal gave up 20 sen to RM5.08 and Public Bank fell 4 sen to RM4.57, with both stocks contributing a combined 4.203 points to the loss in the composite index.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 5.50 points or 0.35% to 1,549.41 from Wednesday’s close of 1,554.91.
The benchmark index, which opened 4.67 points easier at 1,550.24, moved between 1,545.02 and 1,554.53 throughout the day.
Market breadth was negative with decliners outnumbering advancers 692 to 272, while 380 counters were unchanged, 925 untraded, and 22 others suspended.
Total turnover dwindled to 2.69 billion units worth RM2.23 bil from 3.74 billion units worth RM2.25 bil on Wednesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Bursa Malaysia closed broadly lower due to heavy selling pressure across the region.
“Regionally, key indices were mostly lower, save for the Chinese market, following a steep selldown on Wall Street as investors worry about high inflation and a possible economic recession in the United States (US).
“The US consumer price index rose 8.3 per cent in April from a year earlier, continuing the trend of high inflation rates over recent months, while the prolonged Ukraine-Russia war has accelerated surging prices of energy and grains which will have negative impact on the global economy,” he told Bernama.
Singapore’s Straits Times fell 0.95% to 3,194.66, Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 1.89% to 26,402.84, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 2.54% to 20,120.68, South Korea’s Kospi decreased 1.28% to 2,592.34, while China’s SSE Composite Index rose 0.36% to 3,096,96.
As for the local bourse, Thong said the benchmark index remained well supported around the 1,545-1,550 level despite drastic movement in regional indices and Wall Street.
“We reckon the short-term market sentiment will remain jittery amid the weak regional performance although bargain hunting may prevail.
“We anticipate the benchmark index to trend sideways, within the range of 1,545-1,555 towards the weekend, with immediate support at 1,540 and resistance at 1,570,” he added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell 1 sen to RM8.98, Public Bank dipped 4 sen to RM4.57, CIMB eased 3 sen to RM5.04, while Petronas Chemicals rose 4 sen to RM10.02, and IHH Healthcare improved 12 sen to RM6.58.
Of the actives, Serba Dinamik decreased 1.5 sen to 14.5 sen and Sapura Energy fell 1 sen to 6.5 sen, while Techna-X and MNC Wireless gained half-a-sen each to 5.5 sen and 2.5 sen, respectively, and Country Heights was flat at 83.5 sen.
Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries slipped 82 sen to RM30.80, Dutch Lady lost 48 sen to RM33.52, Sarawak Oil Palms slid 33 sen to RM5.72, Berjaya Food gave up 27 sen to RM4.30, and Petronas Dagangan declined 26 sen to RM21.26.
On the index board, the FBM ACE fell 34.20 points to 5,288.17, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 72.16 points to 11,470.72, the FBM Emas Index slid 54.34 points to 11,046.27, the FBMT 100 Index fell 46.38 points to 10,721.33, and the FBM 70 lost 90.76 points to 13,095.87.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.89 points lower at 197.09 and the Financial Services Index dropped 73.20 points to 16,593.71, but the Plantation Index increased 14.57 points to 8,237.33. – May 19, 2022
