KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 ― The bellwether FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) opened lower on continuous profit taking in selected heavyweights, dealers said.
At 9.10am, the index was 9.10 points lower at 1,710.92 from yesterday's close of 1,715.53.
It opened 2.76 points weaker at 1,712.77.
In a research note today, RHB Retail Research said it views yesterday's losses of the index as the result of profit-taking activities after the recent rebound.
“Again, we believe the positive sentiment would remain intact as long as the FBM KLCI does not cover the upside gap that emerged on March 17, 2016. Overall, we remain positive in our short-term outlook,” it said.
The research firm has set the immediate support level at 1,699 points and anticipates the immediate resistance level at 1,729 points.
Market breadth was slightly negative with losers leading gainers 88 to 86 with 135 counters unchanged, 1,437 untraded and 14 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 103.20 million shares worth RM37.10 million.
Among heavyweights, Maybank declined three sen to RM8.92, TNB shed six sen to RM13.90, Public Bank fell two sen to RM18.76 while Petronas Chemicals was flat at RM6.71.
Of the actives, AirAsia X eased one sen to 28.5 sen, Comintel Corp added 9.5 sen to 73.5 sen while Iris Corp and Daya Materials were flat at 16.5 sen and 8.5 sen, respectively.
The FBM Emas Index lost 25.99 points for 11,855.28, the FBMT100 Index declined 27.16 points to 11,556.52, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 26.98 points to 12,482.69.
The FBM Ace gained 5.53 points to 5,642.28, but the FBM 70 was down 16.65 points to 13,094.21.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index advanced 1.72 points to 7,969.03, the Finance Index contracted 30.10 points to 14,584.52 and the Industrial Index shed 8.06 points to 3,274.87. ― Bernama
