KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower in consolidation mode, taking the cue from weaker performance on Wall Street, which snapped its longest winning streak in two months.
Investors are weighing the outlook on US-Sino trade talks and the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy after President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was holding up a trade deal with China unless Beijing agrees to four or five "major points" which he did not specify.
At 9.07am, the key FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 7.35 points at 1,643.85 from 1,651.20 at 5pm yesterday.
The barometer index opened 4.53 points lower at 1,646.67.
Market breadth was negative as losers led gainers 128 to 81, with 185 counters unchanged, 1,494 untraded and 31 suspended.
Turnover stood at 98.37 million worth RM55.47 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said following a retreat in the FBM KLCI yesterday the market started to taper off amid toppish technical indicators after gains over the past few weeks.
“The new trend appears that there could be further near term weakness that could prompt more profit taking activities over the near term.
“There remains little room for further upsides, not only due to the toppish conditions but also the already fair valuations following the recent upsides of more than four per cent,” it said.
While some of the recent gains were due to better-than-expected quarterly earnings, the improved earnings outlook is still largely meek due to the insipid global and domestic economic environment, it said.
With the toppish conditions, the market could still see further near term consolidation with the 1,650 level serving as the immediate support, followed by the 1,644 level. The resistances are at 1,660 and 1,673 respectively, said Malacca Securities.
However, the lower liners and broader market shares may still continue their upside as more retail players return to the market that could provide the near term buying impetus, it added.
Among heavyweights, Maybank and Public Bank shed two sen each to RM8.97 and RM23.46 respectively, Tenaga fell 14 sen to RM12.34, Petronas Chemicals slipped eight sen to RM8.29 and CIMB slid three sen to RM5.29.
Of the actively-traded stocks, HPMT Holdings eased one sen to 55 sen, Ikhmas Jaya added one sen to 22 sen, Bahfest and APFT edged up half-a-sen to 69.5 sen and two sen respectively while SMTRACK was flat at 18 sen.
The FBM Emas Index fell 41.99 points to 11,587.40, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 40.89 points to 11,437.98, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 56.74 points to 11,783.69 and the FBM 70 shed 9.88 points to 14,368.95.
The FBM Ace bagged 22.49 points to 4,426.69.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 42.55 points lower at 16,821.32 and the Industrial Products & Services Index eased 0.45 of-a-point to 160.16 and the Plantation Index slipped 11.80 points to 6,876.65. — Bernama
