KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 — The FBM KLCI turned lower after a positive start in line with negative sentiment on Wall Street, given the ongoing worries over the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
At 9.25am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 4.78 points to 1,496.96 compared to 1,501.74 at Thursday’s close.
The market bellwether opened 1.92 points higher at 1,503.66.
On the broader market, losers trounced gainers 373 to 195, while 322 counters were unchanged, 1,386 untraded, and 20 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 543.26 million units valued at RM318.09 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said investors might be anticipating a shift in US Federal Reserve’s tone towards a more hawkish stance in monetary policies going forward.
“Given the view that the Fed might be more dovish in their stance going forward, investors might avoid technology stocks and shift towards value play for the near term, focusing on heavyweights.
“Meanwhile, as the Baltic Exchange Dry Index climbed in the past week, it might support the transportation sector for now,” it said in a note.
On the commodity markets, crude palm oil price hovered around RM4,650, while crude oil price is currently at the US$73 per barrel mark.
At home, Top Glove and MISC lost 11 sen each to RM2.70 and RM6.41, respectively, Petronas Gas down 12 sen to RM16.46, Hartalega slipped 17 sen to RM6.01, and Sime Darby Plantation eased six sen to RM3.73.
IHH was six sen higher at RM6.64 and Maybank rose three sen to RM7.98.
Of the actives, EA Holdings was flat at two sen, Impiana Hotels was half-a-sen higher at nine sen, ATA IMS gained one sen to 45.5 sen, and VS Industry expanded seven sen to RM1.22.
TH Heavy Engineering fell half-a-sen to one sen and KNM was unchanged at 15.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gave up 28.07 points to 10,910.84, the FBMT 100 Index slid 28.84 points to 10,616.91, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 51.66 points weaker at 11,863.24.
The FBM 70 dipped 18.39 points to 14,111.64 and the FBM ACE dropped 71.11 points to 6,342.47.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.33 of-a-point to 192.84, the Financial Services Index improved 23.39 points to 14,999.50, and the Plantation Index reduced 43.26 points to 6,432.15. — Bernama
