KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) finished marginally lower today but remained above the key 1,600 level, amid mixed cues from the regional markets performance, a dealer said.
At 5 pm, the FBM KLCI fell 0.22 per cent or 3.53 points to 1,601.22 compared to yesterday’s close of 1,604.75.
The barometer index, which opened 1.46 points better at 1,606.21, moved to a low of 1,599.29 before the lunch break, after hitting a high of 1,607.38 during the morning session.
However, in the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 601 to 458, while 532 counters were unchanged, 737 untraded, and 12 others suspended.
Turnover declined to 4.65 billion units worth RM3.13 billion from 5.39 billion units worth RM3.57 billion yesterday.
Apex Securities Bhd head of research Kenneth Leong noted that the local bourse saw profit-taking activities picked up after Bank Negara Malaysia decided to maintain its Overnight Policy Rate at 3.00 per cent today.
“Looking ahead, we expect consolidation to take shape as investors digested recent gains while awaiting corporate earnings releases to be announced in the coming weeks,” he told Bernama.
In the meantime, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said as profit-taking activities continue, investors have shifted their attention to small-cap stocks.
“We believe the market undertone will remain positive, judging by the rise in small-cap stocks,” he added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank gained four sen to RM9.84, CIMB rose one sen to RM6.75, Tenaga Nasional added four sen to RM12.44, Petronas Chemicals rose two sen to RM7, while Public Bank lost three sen to RM4.17.
As for the actives, Harvest Miracle slipped one sen to 10.5 sen, MYEG was flat at 98.5 sen, Pan Malaysia rose 7.5 sen to 29.5 sen, SNS Network climbed 4.5 sen to 53 sen, and Velesto added 1.5 sen to 29 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slid 22.57 points to 12,085.27, the FBMT 100 Index dropped 28.03 points to 11,699.37 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 41.83 points to 12,295.74.
The FBM 70 Index shaved off 49.79 points to 16,965.10, while the FBM ACE Index climbed 34.44 points to 5,170.49.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slipped 5.31 points to 17,470.65, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.27 of-a-point to 192.65, the Plantation Index dipped 38.34 points to 7,462.52, while the Energy Index rose 7.34 points to 988.65.
The Main Market volume declined to 2.60 billion units worth RM2.69 billion from 2.85 billion units worth RM3.09 billion on Wednesday.
Warrants turnover tumbled to 813.67 million units worth RM108.57 million versus 1.16 billion units worth RM173.58 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume narrowed to 1.23 billion shares valued at RM331.95 million against 1.38 billion shares valued at RM307.42 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 683.57 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (436.03 million), construction (228.52 million), technology (419.11 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (85.39 million), property (297.28 million), plantation (35.24 million), REITs (21.64 million), closed/fund (40,100), energy (174.01 million), healthcare (91.23 million), telecommunications and media (44.02 million), transportation and logistics (38.14 million), utilities (48.96 million), and business trusts (1.49 million). — Bernama
