KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 ― Bursa Malaysia pared earlier losses to close the morning session slightly lower in line with easier Asian stocks as the Brexit sentiment continued to linger.
The key index ended the lunch break 1.10 points or 0.068 per cent easier at 1,628.42, after fluactuating between 1,620.94 and 1,628.65 throughout the morning session.
It opened 5.20 points lower at 1,624.32.
A dealer said shocks over Brexit's vote last week dragged the British pound to a 31-year low against the US dollar, trading below US$1.35, the weakest since September 1985.
Regionally, Nikkei 225 index lost 0.4 per cent to 15,248.28, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell one per cent to 20,032.68 while and Shanghai Stock Exchange's SSE Composite Index slipped 0.04 per cent to 2,894.50.
Kenanga Research said the FBM KLCI would undergo a rather sluggish and volatile trading week ahead with much uncertainty over the global economy, weak ringgit and declining crude oil prices clouding the air.
“Downside-bias trading by the local bourse within 1,600-1,640 is still very much expected this week, with further bear pressure to come from Wall Street’s poor overnight performance.
“Overhead resistance remain capped at 1,640 and 1,650, with support noted at 1,620 and 1,600,” it said in a note.
On the broader market, losers thumped gainers 308 to 297 while 295 counters were unchanged, 827 untraded and 45 others were suspended.
Turnover stood at 620.09 million shares worth RM584.76 million.
The FBM Emas Index improved 5.01 points to 11,396.80, the FBMT 100 Index inched up 3.71 point to 11,071.55 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 7.79 point to 11,927.54.
The FBM 70 gained 45.21 points to 12,802.50 but the FBM Ace was 15.41 points lower at 5,053.97.
The Finance Index decreased 27.29 points to 13,982.78, the Plantation Index slid 14.90 points to 7,538.36 and the Industrial Index decreased 7.81 points to 3,052.49.
Of heavyweights, Maybank diminished one sen to RM8.17, TNB was flat at RM14, Public Bank reduced eight sen to RM19.20, Petronas Chemicals fell four sen to RM6.46 while IHH Healthcare increased three sen to RM6.50.
Top gainers, Fraser & Neave gained 48 sen to RM25.40, Kawan Food added 20 sen to RM3.70, Aeon Credit advanced 18 sen to RM13.04 and Cahya Mata expanded 16 sen to RM3.51.
Among actives, Hiap Teck declined two sen to 21 sen while Nexgram and Borneo Oil were flat at 5.5 sen and 15 sen, respectively. ― Bernama
