KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher but retreated thereafter as mild profit-taking emerged in selected heavyweights following recent gains, dealers said.
At 9.22am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 1.99 points to 1,541.12 compared with 1,543.11 at Friday’s close.
The index opened 0.27 of-a-point better at 1,543.38.
On the broader market, losers thumped gainers 239 to 227, while 325 counters were unchanged, 1,482 untraded and 21 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 624.36 million units valued at RM196.50 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, in a research note, said it expects investors to take a cautious approach in the technology sector.
“We expect to see some pullback in technology counters following Nasdaq’s decline, but it may be an opportunity to bargain hunt, given the long-term earnings visibility with the rising adoption of 5G and IoT equipment.
“Meanwhile, we remain upbeat on the banking, consumer and commodity sectors amid the potential interest rate hikes going forward and firmer commodity prices,” it said.
The research firm said the FBM KLCI wrapped up the first week of 2022 with gains, driven mainly by attained in plantation heavyweights.
Nevertheless, it expects traders to position themselves within the commodity-related sector, given the firm crude palm oil (CPO) and crude oil prices recently, with CPO price hovering above RM4,990 per kg and Brent oil above US$81 per barrel.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank declined 2.0 sen to RM8.30, Public Bank fell 1.0 sen to to RM4.15, IHH Healthcare shed 3.0 sen to RM6.71, Petronas Chemicals was flat at RM8.79, while CIMB rose 1.0 sen to RM5.47.
Of the actives, MQ Tech advanced 2.5 sen to 13 sen, AHB Holdings added 3.0 sen to 23 sen, while Techna-X and SMTrack gained 1.0 sen each to 10 sen and 30.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 11.01 points lower at 11,206.41, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 15.58 points to 12,043.90, the FBM 70 eased 3.50 points to 14,323.91, and the FBMT 100 Index dipped 11.41 points to 10,892.23.
However, the FBM ACE improved 49.23 points to 6,741.26.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.04 of-a-point to 202.31, the Financial Services Index advanced 4.13 points to 15,711.55, while the Plantation Index reduced 29.31 points to 6,689.52. — Bernama
