KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 — Bursa Malaysia opened almost flat today amid mild buying activities in the broader market.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 0.92 of-a-point to 1,584.79 from yesterday’s close of 1,583.87.
At the opening bell, the barometer index was 3.77 points higher at 1,587.64.
On the broader market, there were 129 gainers and 127 losers, while 165 counters unchanged, 1,593 untraded and 22 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 156.50 million shares worth RM62.04 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the near term outlook was looking increasingly frail with the downside bias to persist while bouts of foreign selling were still prevalent that was placing a lid on the key index’s near term performance.
In addition, there are also few compelling leads as the ongoing results reporting were still pointing to mixed corporate earnings performances, albeit slight improvements reported by some companies, it said.
“With Malaysian equities still drifting, we see further decoupling from the improved performance of its regional peers as they continue to react positively to a potential trade deal between the U.S and China.
“Hence, the key index could re-test the 1,580 support and if it gives way, the next support is at the 1,575 level. The resistances are at the 1,590-1,600 levels, followed by the 1,610 level,” said Malacca Securities in a note today.
It noted that many of the lower liners and broader market shares were also on a pullback phase after an extended overbought streak.
“We also think that the weakness could prevail for longer as these stocks could undergo a more meaningful consolidation before potentially mounting a year-end window dressing phase next month,” it added.
Of the heavyweights, TNB rose six sen to RM13.46, Public Bank gained two sen to RM19.52, Hong Leong Bank increased 26 sen to RM17.10, Maybank and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM8.59 and RM5.40, respectively, while Petronas Chemicals and CIMB fell two sen each to RM7.03 and RM5.25.
Of the actives, Iris Corp improved 1.5 sen to 15.5 sen, Solarvest bagged three sen to 78.5 sen, Alam Maritim Resources gained one sen to 14 sen, Yong Tai inched up half-a-sen to 21 sen, Ekovest and Next were flat at 83 sen and two sen, respectively, while TDM declined one sen to 20 sen.
The FBM 70 appreciated 22.47 points to 14,102.12, the FBM Emas Shariah Index expanded 16.53 points to 11,829.35, the FBM Emas Index was 8.51 points higher at 11,258.04, the FBMT 100 Index increased 9.08 points to 11,073.93 and the FBM Ace improved 13.31 points to 4,817.29.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index bagged 27.14 points to 7,159.52, the Financial Services Index advanced 23.93 points to 15,456.36, and the Industrial Products & Services Index inched up 0.41 of-a-point to 152.02. — Bernama
