KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened mixed today as trade optimism on the US-China forefront dwindled over the weekend despite the two economic giants having sealed a “phase one” trade deal.
At 9.06 am, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was down 2.02 points or 0.13% to 1,569.14 from Friday’s close of 1,571.16.
The index opened 2.73 points lower at 1,1568.43.
Market breadth was positive as advancers overtook decliners 157 to 101, while 209 counters remained unchanged, 1,519 untraded and 16 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 134.4 million shares worth RM96.03 mil.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said investors are pondering whether the “phase one” trade deal is as robust as expected, and they are also concerned that “phase two” of the deal might not even take place until after the US presidential election on Nov 3, 2020.
“Nevertheless, the outcome of the UK election has removed the uncertainty over Brexit that has been floating over the past year,” it said in its note today.
On the technical front, it said that the FBM KLCI may experience some minor pullback activities with key support located at the 1,560 level.
“With the key index still trading in a downward bias mode, any gains will be capped towards the 1,580 level for now.
“The lower liners may continue to see rotational plays as we head towards the year-end. As expected, the technology sector that was in a consolidation mode garnered strong trading interest last Friday and gains may continue in the foreseeable future,” it said.
Among heavyweights, IHH declined four sen to RM5.36, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slipped 28 sen to RM24.42, MISC dropped three sen to RM8.30, Petronas Dagangan skidded 22 sen to RM23.32 while Tenaga Nasional shrank four sen to RM13.14.
Of the actives, Ekovest was up two sen to 92.5 sen, Iskandar Waterfront rose three sen to RM1.05, GDB was up 1.5 sen to 54 sen while WCE gained one sen to 34 sen.
As for top gainers, Dutch Lady added 46 sen to RM49.96, Genting Plantation gained 26 sen to RM10.66 and PPB advanced 22 sen to RM18.60.
Barakah Offshore, Impiana Hotel and Lambo Group all declined half-a-sen to RM12.50.
The FBM Emas Index dropped 2.24 points to 11,185.34, the FBM Emas Shariah Index depreciated 10.75 points to 11,824.22 while the FBMT 100 Index eased by 4.08 points to 10.976.53.
Meanwhile, FBM Ace went up 3.67 points to 4,996.60 and the FBM 70 improved 36.02 points to 14,055.02.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index jumped 16.01 points to 15,269.05, the Industrial Products and Services Index declined 0.40 of-a-point to 151.74 and the Plantation Index slipped 14.12 points to 7,482.29. – Bernama
