KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower today tracking overnight losses of global indices amid cautious investment tone.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 2.83 points to 1,599.92, after opening 1.52 points lower at 1,601.24.
The market barometer closed at 1,602.75 yesterday.
On the broader market, losers outpaced gainer 112 to 87, while 146 counters unchanged, 1,610 untraded and 14 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 68.98 million units worth RM30.35 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd in its equity note today said, the FBM KLCI is expected to be on the road of recovery due to the oversold condition, despite weakening global indices.
“We do see some tempering of the recovery prospects and renewed volatility could still be a near term feature.
“Under the prevailing environment, we think the near term upsides could be limited with the 1,610 level becoming the near term resistance,” it said.
As for market rebound, it said that the lower liners and broader market shares will continue their rebound, but with increased volatility as profit-taking activities could set in.
“Nevertheless, we still see mild upsides over the near term as bouts of bargain hunting activities will provide some aiding factors,” it added.
Global indices, Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.66 per cent to 25,962.44, Japan Nikkei slid 0.68 per cent to 20.535.64, Hong Kong Hang Seng reduced 0.23 per cent to 26,231 and South Korea's KOPSI fell 0.02 per cent to 1,959.80.
On heavyweight performance, Press Metal and Kuala Lumpur Kelong both declined six sen to RM4.75 and RM23.76 respectively, while Tenaga Nasional, CIMB Group and DIGI all shed two sen to RM13.68, RM5.16 and RM5.00 respectively.
For the most active stocks, Sealink gained 2.5 sen to 29.5 sen, Brahims, Dagang Nexchange and Icon all added half-a-sen to 16.5 sen, 26 sen and 6 sen respectively.
The FBM Ace gained 3.39 points to 4,611.57, the FBM 70 declined 13.96 points to 14,169.28, the FBM Emas Index erased 18.98 points to 11,330.69, the FBM Emas Shariah Index depreciated 27.60 points to 11,851.18 and the FBMT 100 Index was 17.71 points lower to 11,167.06.
Sectorwise, the Financial Services Index was 7.31 points lower for 15,598.31, the Plantation Index discounted 23.36 points to 6,738.01, and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.37 of-a-point to 149.64. — Bernama
