KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — Bursa Malaysia opened easier but rebounded thereafter, continuing yesterday’s recovery on the back of positive reaction to the Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) rate cut, amid lingering COVID-19 fears.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 1.18 points higher at 1,479.82 from Tuesday’s close of 1,478.64.
At the opening bell, the FBM KLCI opened 0.31 points easier at 1,478.33.
However, on the broader market, losers led gainers by 230 to 86, with 167 counters unchanged, 1,515 untraded and 18 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 186.89 million shares worth RM122.85 million.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI also took a cue from the firmer overnight performance of Wall Street but sentiment remained cautious on the developments over the Covid-19.
In the meantime, BNM has announced a 25 basis points rate cut to cushion the economy from any associated arising from the coronavirus which also contributed to the positive performance on the local bourse, it said.
This marked the second rate cut undertaken by the BNM this year, a move in line with dovish measures undertaken by several central banks across the globe.
“With volatility appears to be unabated following the slump on Wall Street overnight, the weakness may permeate to the local bourse with key index likely to head towards the support located at the 1,455 level.
“At the same time, we remain cautious that any recovery will be mild with key resistance on the local bourse pegged at the 1,495 and 1,510 levels respectively,” it noted.
It added the conclusion of quarterly financial reporting season also saw earnings growth remained lacklustre, suggesting that the market sentiment could remain downbeat over the foreseeable future.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank gained one sen to RM8.42, Tenaga added four sen to RM12.54 and CIMB increased six sen to RM4.56.
Public Bank slid two sen to RM17.74 while IHH was flat at RM5.60.
Of the actives, XOX, DGB Asia and Reach Energy warrant eased half-a-sen each to 3.5 sen, 4.5 sen and two sen respectively.
Careplus added one sen to 28.5 sen and Vortex edged up half-a-sen to 8.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index eased 2.54 points to 10,428.70, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 11.59 points to 11,059.40, the FBM 70 fell 29.64 points to 12,701.67 and the FBM Ace slipped 34.49 points to 5,214.51.
The FBMT 100 Index was 0.75 of a point better at 10,253.76.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 0.29 of a point to 132.05, the Plantation Index fell 50.45 points to 6,699.60 but the Financial Services Index rebounded 24.31 points to 14,337.63. — Bernama
