KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 ― Bursa Malaysia opened on a mixed note today as cautious sentiments prevailed despite the ongoing accumulation of blue chips, said an analyst.
At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 4.39 points to 1,549.25 from yesterday’s close of 1,553.64.
The benchmark index opened 2.05 points easier at 1,551.59.
However, on the broader market, gainers led decliners 222 to 202, while 326 counters were unchanged, 1,544 untraded and nine suspended.
Turnover amounted to 442.98 million units worth RM189.57 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng believes that the buying momentum on Monday was predominantly driven by the local institutions as more funds are flowing back into the domestic market.
“Thus, we expect the index to hover within the 1,550-1,560 range today,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Wall Street closed higher yesterday amid a cautious mode as many are expecting another stagnant rate outlook ahead of the United States Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting which will be held today and tomorrow.
The Dow Jones Industrial (DJI) Average gained 76 points while the Nasdaq benefited from rotational play and jumped 130 points, despite the US 10-year yield edging higher to 4.328 per cent.
Back home, Bursa heavyweights Maybank, CIMB and Petronas Chemicals declined by four sen to RM9.71, RM6.61 and RM6.82, respectively.
Public Bank inched down two sen to RM4.27 and TNB lost six sen to RM11.54.
As for the actives, Vsolar added 1.5 sen to 13 sen, MMAG gained one sen to 15 sen and Ta Win eased half-a-sen to three sen, while Hong Seng and Harvest Miracle Capital were flat at one sen and 12.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 21.87 points easier at 11,535.50, the FBMT 100 Index reduced by 23.31 points to 11,195.54 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased by 19.14 points to 11,544.87.
Meanwhile, the FBM ACE Index gained 28.77 points to 4,745.89, and the FBM 70 Index advanced 2.31 points to 15,717.76.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dropped 64.90 points to 17,274.15, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.35 points to 176.89 and the Plantation Index slipped 10.06 points to 7,275.38, while the Energy Index improved by 4.04 points to 932.45. ― Bernama
