KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 () -- Bursa Malaysia ended in the negative territory in tandem with heavy selling across the region as investors tread cautiously amid a hawkish tone on the global interest rate hike, an analyst said.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined by 1.08 per cent or 16.04 points to 1,467.13 from Wednesday's closing of 1,483.17.
The barometer index, which opened 1.39 points lower at 1,481.78, moved in a declining mode between 1,466.25 and 1,482.11 during the day.
On the broader market, decliners thumped advancers 584 versus 307, while 402 counters were unchanged, 980 untraded, and 41 others suspended.
Turnover improved slightly to 2.54 billion units worth RM1.91 billion against 2.51 billion units worth RM1.90 billion yesterday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama that the regional key indices closed mostly lower amid lingering concerns about inflation and the prospect of aggressive rate hikes.
In addition, he said rising Covid-19 cases in China also weighed on market sentiment.
Nevertheless, on the home front, he said the selldown may offer the opportunity to bargain hunt for stocks at lower levels.
"We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend sideways towards the weekend, within the range of between 1,465 and 1,485," he said.
Among Bursa Malaysia heavyweights, Maybank lost seven sen to RM8.70, Public Bank dropped six sen to RM4.38, Petronas Chemicals eased four sen to RM8.46, CIMB trimmed eight sen to RM5.75, and TNB fell 13 sen to RM9.21.
Among the actives, Advance Synergy gained 1.5 sen to 19 sen, PT Resources and Nylex rose 6.5 sen each to 57.5 sen and 28 sen, respectively, while Top Glove fell five sen to 73.5 sen, and Pesona Metro went down two sen to 20 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dipped 101.81 points to 10,550.90, the FBMT 100 Index declined 105.71 points to 10,250.91, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 113.13 points to 10,669.78.
The FBM 70 Index slipped 107.86 points to 12,922.67 and the FBM ACE Index shed 39.40 points to 5,471.59.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index shaved off 134.07 points to 16,535.50, the Plantation Index lost 36.48 points to 6,704.41, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.36 of-a-point to 181.02, and the Energy Index gave up 0.76 of-a-point to 794.60.
The Main Market volume rose slightly to 1.57 billion shares worth RM1.55 billion versus 1.52 billion shares worth RM1.55 billion on Wednesday.
Warrants turnover increased to 283.83 million units valued at RM59.64 million from 268.73 million units valued at RM65.20 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume dropped to 676.83 million shares worth RM299.49 million against 723.65 million shares worth RM284.05 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 431.06 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (413.53 million); construction (70.76 million); technology (185.47 million); SPAC (nil), financial services (67.16 million); property (80.62 million); plantation (28.53 million); REITs (5.22 million), closed/fund (15,300); energy (98.93 million); healthcare (85.88 million); telecommunications and media (56.19 million); transportation and logistics (38.69 million); and utilities (10.83 million). — Bernama
