KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower today in tandem with most Asian markets, driven by the weak overnight performance of Wall Street despite the continued uptrend in crude oil prices, dealers said.
At 9.15am, key index FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 9.82 points to 1,371.82 from 1,381.64 at yesterday’s close.
The key index opened 5.47 points lower at 1,376.17.
Market breadth however was bullish with gainers thumping losers 192 to 174, while 209 counters were unchanged, 1,336 untraded and 28 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 470.27 million shares worth RM173.83 million.
Malacca Securities said that yesterday, the buying momentum was punctuated by quick profit taking activities as the recovery on the FBM KLCI stalled.
“After two consecutive weeks of strong recovery, investors have now turned into a crossroads as concern over the economic impact from Covid-19 returns to the fore. At the same time, the persistent selling activities from foreign funds also limit gains over the near term.
“With conditions turning slightly on a weaker side, we think that the FBM KLCI may consolidate, ranging between the 1,360 and 1,410 levels. An upper band breakout will see the recovery resume for the key index towards the 1,420 and 1,455 levels,” it said in a research note today.
On the flip side, it said support is pegged at the 1,360 level for the time being.
The research firm further added that lower liners and broader market shares are also trading in an indifferent manner as investors were quick to lock in recent gains to pare down exposure in anticipation of further volatility.
“Nevertheless, the stabilising crude oil prices may garner trading interest towards oil & gas shares,” it said.
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose one sen to RM7.43, but TNB declined 28 sen to RM12.02, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare dipped six sen each to RM15.80 and RM5.14 respectively, while Petronas Chemicals contracted 10 sen to RM5.29.
Of the actives, Tiger Synergy went up 1.5 sen to 11.5 sen, Sanichi Technology earned half-a-sen to five sen while Vortex Consolidated and Xidelang were flat at eight sen and seven sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 46.46 points weaker at 9,571.43, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 67.26 points to 10,608.80, while the FBMT 100 Index decreased 49.17 points to 9,449.24.
The FBM 70 gained 16.54 points to 11,465.05 and the FBM Ace shed 1.84 points to 4,396.50.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.90 point to 115.94, the Financial Services Index reduced 24.52 points to 12,284.38 while the Plantation Index perked 11.47 points to 6,169.70. — Bernama
