KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 — Bursa Malaysia ended the day on a mixed note amidst volatile trading due to continued selling in selected heavyweights, interspersed with buying support in FBM ACE, lower liners and smaller caps stocks.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 7.81 points or 0.49 per cent to 1,568.13 from yesterday’s close of 1,575.94.

Trading volume stood at 15.57 billion shares worth RM8.26 billion, slightly lower from yesterday’s all-time high record of 15.62 billion shares, valued at RM10.44 billion.

The key index opened 2.88 points firmer at 1,578.82 and moved between 1,566.87 and 1,579.91 throughout the day.

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Market breadth was positive with gainers trumping losers 797 to 390, while 331 counters were unchanged, 445 untraded and 17 others suspended.

Maybank Investment Bank Bhd’s remisier Jeffry Azizi Jaafar said the market was bustling again today as investors sought for returns on investment (ROI) from the equity market as fixed asset investments were expected to provide lower returns due to lower interest rates.

“Besides, the sentiment was dampened by the nagging political uncertainty and expectations of worsening reported numbers for the second quarter for both gross domestic product and corporate results.

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“On the global front, investors are uneasy over fears of a second wave of Covid-19 infections, coupled with the heightened United States-China geopolitical tensions,” he told Bernama.

Healthcare counters continued to be a favourite among investors due to rising Covid-19 infections globally, followed by technology stocks which received a boost from the 0.67 per cent rise in Apple share price in the United States.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank shed three sen to RM7.47, Top Glove lost 42 sen to RM27.94, Hartalega eased 14 sen to RM19.80 and Public Bank fell two sen sen to RM16.68.

Tenaga was flat at RM10.94 and Petronas Chemicals was nine sen lower at RM5.73.

Of the most active, both Vsolar and Borneo Oil gained half-a-sen to five sen each, Fintec increased three sen to 13 sen and Bioalpha rose 5.5 sen to 34 sen.

Top gainers F&N rose 98 sen to RM31.50, KESM bagged 72 sen to RM9.18 and Bursa Malaysia advanced 65 sen to RM10.60.

Top losers Carlsberg declined 64 sen to RM23.56, Heineken dipped 56 sen to RM21.62 and MPI slid 52 sen to RM14.84.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 6.60 points to 11,341.18, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 31.67 points higher at 13,478.16, while the FBMT 100 Index edged down 10.75 points to 11,143.29.

The FBM 70 jumped 159.97 points to 14,901.77, while FBM ACE soared 471.90 points to 10,132.08.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.05 of-a-point to 138.60, the Financial Services Index eased 25.93 points to 12,856.11, while the Plantation Index decreased 48.28 points to 6,988.47.

Main Market volume increased to 7.09 billion shares valued at RM5.78 billion compared with 6.27 billion shares worth RM6.85 billion yesterday.

Warrants turnover went down to 804.62 million units worth RM336.64 million from 1.14 billion units worth RM530.66 million previously.

Volume on the ACE Market narrowed to 7.67 billion shares valued at RM2.14 billion versus 8.20 billion shares valued at RM3.06 billion yesterday.

Consumer products and services accounted for 1.18 billion shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (1.88 billion), construction (323.62 million), technology (1.29 billion), SPAC (nil), financial services (572.71 million), property (852.49 million), plantations (118.05 million), REITs (17.80 million), closed/fund (87,000), energy (700.88 million), healthcare (180.99 million), telecommunications and media (72.09 million), transportation and logistics (353.50 million), and utilities (40.32 million). — Bernama