.JPG "An investor monitors the stock prices in the gallery of the RHB Investment Bank Bhd headquarters in Kuala Lumpur March 17, 2020. u00e2u20acu2022 Picture by Hari Anggara")
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower but slightly rebounded thereafter, supported by mild buying in selected heavyweights following the recent losses, dealers said.
At 9.27am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 0.53 of-a-point to 1,494.43, compared with 1,493.90 on Monday.
The index opened 1.10 points weaker at 1,492.80.
On the broader market, however, losers led gainers 217 to 155, while 267 counters were unchanged, 1,661 untraded and 15 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 339.32 million units valued at RM221.60 million.
In a research note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it anticipates mild window dressing activities in the local market towards year-end, with the support level located at 1,475 and resistance pegged along 1,505-1,535.
"Given the emerging Omicron fears, we expect traders to participate in the healthcare sector at least for the near term.
“Although data suggested that Omicron is not as deadly as the Delta variant, governments across the world would be monitoring for further actions such as lockdowns and tighter quarantine standard operating procedures to be deployed in the near term,” it said.
The brokerage firm also expects bargain hunting activities to emerge and pick up among the heavyweights towards year-end.
Nonetheless, it noted that in light of the negative overnight performance on the Wall Street, selling pressure may extend towards stocks on the local bourse.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 3.0 sen to RM8.14, Public Bank went up 1.0 sen to RM4.08 and CIMB was flat at RM5.29, while IHH Healthcare and TNB slipped 1.0 sen each to RM6.52 and RM9.29, respectively.
Of the actives, Swift Haulage and Bintai Kinden were flat at RM1.03 and 24.5 sen, respectively, while Kejuruteraan Asastera shed 1.0 sen to 25 sen and Malaysian Genomics eased half-a-sen to 92.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 4.18 points higher at 10,844.21 and the FBMT 100 Index went up 3.83 points to 10,551.18, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 4.74 points to 11,634.39.
The FBM 70 rose 5.47 points to 13,827.93 and the FBM ACE declined 16.36 points to 6,190.54.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.21 of-a-point to 194.32, the Financial Services Index gained 29.96 points to 15,274.0, and the Plantation Index improved 10.55 points to 6,362.85. — Bernama
