KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Wednesday on lack of fresh catalysts to propel market movement.
At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 7.59 points to 1,530.83 from Tuesday’s close of 1,538.42. The benchmark index opened 1.91 points lower at 1,536.51.
On the broader market, decliners led gainers 255 to 191 while 344 counters were unchanged, 1,548 untraded and 74 suspended.
Turnover amounted to 331.77 million units worth RM179.45 million.
ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves said that Asian equity markets are expected to trade on the downside on Wednesday, as liquidity concerns and end-of-month trading dynamics impact short-term price movements.
“It’s important to highlight the absence of a dominant market theme at present, with cross-asset volatility at low levels and United States equities remaining resilient.
“Traders are keenly awaiting further guidance from Federal Reserve officials and key economic indicators from China, along with ongoing discussions around fiscal policies,” he said.
Alves said that in this trading session, the focus will be on rebalancing and fixing trades, particularly involving the euro, Japanese yen, and Chinese yuan.
“These activities underscore the complex relationship between corporate demand and month-end financial adjustments. This period is marked by increased trading volume and directional bets, impacting both the bond market and sector rotations within equities,” he added.
Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank declined 1.0 sen to RM9.68, Tenaga Nasional shed 8.0 sen to RM11.12 and Petronas Chemical ticked down 3.0 sen to RM6.80, while Public Bank was flat at RM4.25 and CIMB Group added 1.0 sen to RM6.51.
Among the actives, Zantat Holdings increased 13.0 sen to 38 sen, MMAG Holdings and Computer Forms added 1.0 sen each to 18 sen and 16 sen, respectively, and Techbase Industries and Ingenieur Gudang were both flat at 20.5 sen and 16.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 39.59 points to 11,522.01, the FBMT 100 Index trimmed 40.82 points to 11,165.50, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 58.65 points to 11,607.11.
The FBM 70 Index added 0.54 of a point to 16,102.10, and the FBM ACE Index edged up 1.72 points to 4,911.74.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index shaved 0.28 of a point to 179.24, the Financial Services Index weakened 11.34 points to 17,208.70 and the Plantation Index reduced 37.90 points to 7,306.62. However, the Energy Index expanded 5.34 points to 943.59.
Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries will be closed on Thursday, March 28, 2024, in conjunction with Nuzul Al-Quran — a holiday observed in several states in Malaysia.
The local bourse and its subsidiaries will resume operations on Friday, March 29, 2024. — Bernama
