KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 — Bursa Malaysia opened mixed on Tuesday morning with the key index down amid a lack of catalysts.
At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 3.48 points to 1,534.06 from Monday’s close of 1,537.54. The benchmark index opened 1.48 points lower at 1,536.06.
On the broader market, gainers led decliners 228 to 214 while 304 counters were unchanged, 1,594 untraded and 47 suspended. Turnover amounted to 315.24 million units worth RM134.58 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the overall market mood is not particularly strong or positive. “The prevailing mood in the market is not very buoyant or optimistic, which could influence trading behaviour and market dynamics,” he told Bernama.
Thong said he sees a pivotal support level around 1,530, where buying interest is expected to stabilise any downward movement. “This comes alongside projections of a restrained trading atmosphere, with the index anticipated to sway within the confines of 1,535-1,545,” he added.
Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank added 1.0 sen to RM9.63, Public Bank remained flat at RM4.24 while CIMB Group and Petronas Chemical declined 1.0 sen each to RM6.49 and RM6.77 respectively. Tenaga Nasional weakened 4.0 sen to RM11.46.
Among the actives, Sapura Energy, Velesto Energy and Perdana Petroleum gained half-a-sen each to 4.5 sen, 29.5 sen and 31.0 sen, respectively. Ingenieur Gudang added 1.0 sen to 18 sen while TCS Group jumped 3.5 sen to 16.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 18.14 points to 11,522.85 and the FBMT 100 Index was 16.72 points lower at 11,171.93. The FBM Emas Shariah Index declined by 24.44 points to 11,606.79.
The FBM 70 Index jumped 11.23 points to 16,041.10, and the FBM ACE Index edged up 1.26 points to 4,882.13.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched shaved 0.25 of a point to 178.37 and the Financial Services Index added 11.59 points to 17,167.34. The Energy Index expanded 5.57 points to 944.94, and the Plantation Index gained 1.24 points to 7,317.68. — Bernama
