KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — Bursa Malaysia slid below the 1,500-mark a few minutes after its opening as the local bourse remained in consolidation mode following the recent gains.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) retreated 21.35 points, or 1.41 per cent, to 1,497.97 from Tuesday’s close of 1,519.32.
The key index fell 13.58 points to 1,505.74 at the opening.
Market breadth was negative with losers thumping gainers 476 to 77, while 190 counters were unchanged, 1,295 untraded and 22 others suspended.
Trading volume stood at 590.80 million shares worth RM186.04 million.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it expects the consolidation to linger over the near term on the FBM KLCI, as gains would be measured by the weakness from glove heavyweights.
“For now, any strong recovery will be tempered by quick profit-taking activities,” it said, adding that the lower liners may continue to endure a rough ride on the back of the negative market breadth, despite some pockets of opportunities for a rebound play.
Technically, the brokerage firm continues to view 1,500 as the immediate support, followed by 1,480, with resistance located at 1,555, followed by 1,580.
At the opening, over two-thirds of the 30 FBM KLCI-linked counters were in the red, except Hong Leong Bank which rose 12 sen to RM14.92.
Maybank fell 21 sen to RM7.29, Top Glove lost 20 sen to RM7.44, Petronas Chemicals was 17 sen lower at RM5.50, Hartalega slipped 30 sen to RM13.30 while Tenaga shrank 18 sen to RM11.14.
Of the actives, Ekovest bagged 3.5 sen to 54 sen, Sapura Energy shed half-a-sen to 11 sen, while Lambo, Priceworth International and EA Holdings were unchanged at 4.5 sen, three sen and three sen respectively.
Top losers were led by Petronas Dagangan, evaporating 72 sen to RM20.90, followed by Panasonic Malaysia which declined 58 sen to RM29.00.
Kossan erased 50 sen to RM12.00, MPI reduced 42 sen to RM17.38 while Carlsberg dropped 36 sen to RM19.62.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index contracted 147.49 points to 10,774.58 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 189.54 points to 12,683.56.
The FBM 70 dipped 210.93 points to 13,898.83, the FBMT 100 Index was 153.25 points easier at 10,580.49 and the FBM ACE declined 128.25 points to 10,262.47.
Sector-wise, lone gainer the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Index ticked up 0.18 point to 848.24 while the Healthcare Index slipped 71.31 points to 3,522.79.
The Financial Services Index slumped 130.76 points to 12,612.64, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 2.20 points to 134.87 and the Plantation Index dwindled 66.92 points to 7,033.51. — Bernama
