KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher but turned lower thereafter, on the lack of fresh catalysts ahead of the three-day-long Hari Raya Aidiladha holiday beginning tomorrow.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 2.26 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 1,609.16 from 1,611.42 at yesterday’s close.
The key index opened 2.60 points higher at 1,614.02 at 9am.
The broader market, however, was positive, with gainers leading losers 299 to 132, while 286 counters were unchanged, 1,280 untraded and 64 others suspended.
Trading volume stood at 584.24 million shares worth RM261.77 million.
Commenting on today’s trading, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd expected the government’s move to extend the loan moratorium by additional three months to targeted groups, which could possibly reduce the level of the non-performing loan, bodes slightly well for the financial sector.
“Elsewhere, healthcare-related stocks may continue to anchor the gainers’ list, while the energy sector may be spurred by the higher Brent oil prices that closed near the two-weeks high (of more than US$43 per barrel),” it said in a note today.
On the US Federal Reserve’s decision to maintained benchmark interest rates at a record low of between 0 and 0.25 per cent, the brokerage firm said the low-interest rate environment implies that liquidity will remain within the stock markets and assets that deliver higher yields.
“For now, the FBM KLCI is also largely on track to deliver its biggest monthly gain since October 2011, whilst the both the FBM Small Cap and FBM Fledgling are still on course for a V-shaped recovery,” it added.
Technically, Malacca Securities reckoned that the 1,615 will serve as the immediate hurdle which the key index has re-tested yesterday, with next resistance located at 1,630, and support is pegged at 1,585, followed by 1,560.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank and Top Glove added two sen each at RM7.77 and RM26.16 respectively, Hartalega gained six sen to RM20.18, Public Bank lost four sen to RM17.50 while Tenaga was unchanged at RM11.42.
Of the most actives, Priceworth International and XOX ticked up half-a-sen each to 3.5 sen and 26 sen respectively, BCM Alliance grew two sen to 31 sen, LKL International improved three sen to 92.5 sen while Borneo Oil was flat at 4.5 sen.
Top gainers included Ajinomoto which advanced 50 sen to RM15.50, MPI elevated 40 sen to RM13.10 and Sam Engineering and Equipment was 31 sen higher at RM7.52.
Meanwhile, top losers were led by Bursa Malaysia and Petronas Chemicals, which eased 12 sen each to RM9.48 and RM6.16 respectively. Malaysia Airport retreated seven sen to RM5.06.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index edged up 1.75 points to 11,471.05, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 10.37 points firmer at 13,475.72 but the FBMT 100 Index shrank 3.70 points to 11,304.28.
The FBM 70 lifted 43.02 points to 14,608.36 and the FBM ACE was 80.47 points higher at 8,604.35.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index trimmed 0.46of-a-point to 141.96 but the Financial Services Index declined 20.29 points to 13,316.229 and the Plantation Index erased 10.98 points to 7,129.43. — Bernama
