KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower on lack of buying interest due to the absence of any positive catalysts, said an analyst.
As at 9.05am, the benchmark index FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) erased 4.31 points to 1,462.58 after opening 1.42 points lower at 1,465.47.
Losers overtook gainers 290 to 108, while 238 counters were unchanged, 1454 untraded and 20 others suspended.
Total volume stood at 225.11 million worth RM97.12 million.
The interest rate decision by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday (Nov 3), upcoming Budget 2021 tabling (Nov 6), Malaysia’s unemployment data and industrial production (Nov 9), as well as the US presidential election (Nov 3) have influenced the market movement, especially in emerging markets.
Rakuten Trade head of research Kenny Yee said the FBM KLCI, which was sold down rather badly last Friday, will not rebound anytime soon.
“Both internal and external factors may not attract any buying activities at the moment.
“Therefore, unless the 1,500 is broken decisively, the benchmark index is expected to consolidate within the 1,450-1,500 range for now,” he said in a research note today.
On heavyweight performance, Petronas Dagangan and Petronas Gas eased four sen each to RM17.20 and RM15.70, respectively, Tenaga decreased three sen to RM9.51, Petronas Chemicals down 10 sen to RM5.75, Top Glove shed 11 sen to RM8.46, and Axiata dropped three sen to RM2.90.
Petronas Chemicals and Top Glove also led the losers’ counters at the morning session.
On actives, tech counters dominated with Diversified Gateway Solutions and Dataprep adding one sen each to 20.5 sen and 19 sen, respectively.
As for gainers, Chemical Company of Malaysia rose 18 sen to RM2.15, MBM Resources increased nine sen to RM2.73 and Scientex added six sen to RM11.94.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index erased 40.79 points to 10,572.79, the FBMT 100 Index was 38.42 points lower at 10,394.21 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 71.63 points to 12,670.05.
The FBM 70, meanwhile, slipped 81.47 points to 13,903.61 and the FBM ACE was 22.05 points weaker at 9,421.15.
The Financial Services Index inched up 2.09 points to 12,011.48, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.19 point lower at 139.95, and the Plantation Index eased to 3.76 points to 6,798.14. — Bernama
