BURSA Malaysia ended on a lower note today with most indices staying in the negative zone as the overall market sentiment remained weak.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 0.47% or 7.24 points to 1,512.32 from Tuesday’s close of 1,519.56.
The market bellwether however opened 1.21 points higher at 1,520.77. The key index moved between 1,509.57 and 1,522.87 throughout the trading session.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 542 to 411, while 465 counters were unchanged, 809 untraded, and nine others suspended.
Turnover decreased to 4.37 billion units valued at RM2.99 bil from Tuesday’s 4.54 billion units worth RM2.53 bil.
An analyst said as the number of COVID-19 cases saw a drastic increase, with 11,618 cases recorded today and 11,079 cases on Tuesday, the government is likely to extend the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) in Selangor.
“This will put more pressure on the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as the manufacturing and construction sectors wherein a longer lockdown will spark an increase in the unemployment rate,” she told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of equity sales Vincent Lau said besides the persistently high COVID-19 cases, the local equity market also mirrored the performance of its regional peers, which declined as investors evaluate the US inflation data which jumped 0.9% month-on-month in June.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and Public Bank Bhd shed one sen each to RM8.05 and RM4.07 respectively, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd declined seven sen to RM8.03, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) shed four sen to RM9.62, while IHH Healthcare Bhd was flat at RM5.64 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd increased three sen to RM4.53.
As for most active counters, Pasukhas Group Bhd dipped 10 sen to 23 sen, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd fell 3.5 sen to 41 sen, and Lambo Group Bhd was flat at one sen. – July 14, 2021
