KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 — Bursa Malaysia remained mixed at the opening for the second consecutive day, amid higher crude oil prices and a stronger ringgit.
At 9.02am, the key FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 2.37 points to 1,673.06 from 1,675.43 at 5pm yesterday.
The index opened 3.19 points lower at 1,672.24.
Gainers led losers 130 to 48, with 141 counters unchanged, 1,568 untraded and 22 suspended.
Turnover stood at 70.03 million worth RM35.04 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said although market conditions are becoming increasingly toppish, there appears to be more near-term upsides, as Malaysian stocks follow the positive overnight trend on most global indices to extend its present uptrend.
“As it is, there continues to be positivity, brought about by speculation over a US interest rates cut in the near-term, as well as the likely resumption of the US-China trade negotiations.
“However, the FBM KLCI’s condition is becoming increasingly toppish after the recent gains.Hence, we think that further upsides will be milder with bouts of profit taking activities ahead of the weekend,” the research house said in a note today.
Malacca Securities noted that even with the key index stocks making headway, FBM Small Cap, FBM Fledgling and FBM ACE stocks are still showing signs of dithering.
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose two sen to RM8.96, Petronas Chemicals added one sen to RM8.38, Public Bank declined four sen to RM23.04 and Tenaga was six sen weaker at RM13.82.
Cleanroom gloves exporter CE Technology Bhd made its debut on Bursa Malaysia's Leading Entrepreneur Accelerator Platform (LEAP) Market today with a premium of four sen, from its initial public offering of 24 sen per share with 110,000 units traded.
Of the actively-traded stocks, Bumi Armada gained one sen to 21.5 sen, Hibiscus Petroleum and Dayang Enterprise appreciated four sen each to RM1.11 and RM1.21, while Ekovest was one sen better at 85.5 sen.
The FBM Emas Index fell 5.02 points to 11,781.26, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 7.03 points to 11,633.50 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 15.67 points to 12,117.09.
The FBM 70 edged up 29.69 points to 14,583.29 and the FBM Ace gained 9.12 points to 4,371.04.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index added 2.05 points to 16,694.05, and the Industrial Products & Services Index inched up 0.18 of-a-point to 160.70, but the Plantation Index eased 32.57 points to 6,938.18. — Bernama
