Bursa Malaysia struggles to stay positive, CI Down 0.78 pct at close

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia struggled to maintain a positive tone and slipped further in the afternoon session today as investors remained wary of major central bank decisions, key economic data, and earnings announcements from the United States (US) mega-cap companies.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 12.62 points or 0.78 per cent to 1,611.94 from yesterday's close of 1,624.56.

The FBM KLCI opened 0.22 of-a-point better at 1,624.78 and moved between 1,611.94 and 1,629.37 throughout the day.

On the broader market, losers thumped gainers 723 to 306, with 589 counters unchanged, 867 untraded, and 89 others suspended.

Turnover decreased to 4.19 billion units worth RM3.11 billion from yesterday's 4.23 billion units worth RM2.89 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said that, however, the technology sector remains the focal point in Malaysian equities ahead of the earnings of the US tech giants.

He said regional indices were also in negative territory due to the same reason.

"As for the local bourse, the benchmark index has been hovering between the crucial 1,610-1,625 support levels for the fourth consecutive day.

"We hope for a breakout from this range; otherwise, the index will likely consolidate at the current level briefly until new catalysts emerge," he told Bernama.

Thong said that if the FBM KLCI breaks through the 1,630 resistance and holds firmly, he anticipates a stronger upward momentum in the near term.

"Currently, we expect the benchmark index to fluctuate within the 1,610-1,630 range for the remainder of the week," he added.

Among heavyweights, Maybank eased 12 sen to RM10.08, Public Bank edged down 6.0 sen to RM4.18, CIMB Group shed 3.0 sen to RM7.21, IHH Healthcare slid 5.0 sen to RM6.22, while Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM14.10.

Of the actives, Velocity Capital Partner, Hubline and Velesto Energy gave up half-a-sen to 7.5 sen, 12.5 sen, and 22 sen respectively, OCR Group was 1.5 sen lower at 7.0 sen, and Top Glove shaved off 7.0 sen to RM1.09.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 77.85 points to 12,468.70, the FBMT 100 Index dropped 74.50 points to 12,060.04, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 45.58 points at 12,781.60, the FBM 70 Index trimmed 42.25 points to 18,605.02, and the FBM ACE Index erased 110.83 points to 5,668.17.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index tumbled 132.44 points to 17,955.43, the Plantation Index shed 7.38 points to 7,169.05, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.98 of-a-point to 191.88, and the Energy Index fell 2.48 points to 963.42.

The Main Market volume expanded to 2.47 billion units valued at RM2.77 billion from 2.41 billion units valued at RM2.52 billion on Monday.

Warrants turnover slid to 1.03 billion units worth RM117.90 million from 1.06 billion units worth RM143.70 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume dwindled to 688.13 million shares valued at RM221.85 million from 754.36 million shares valued at RM222.85 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 336.57 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (743.43 million), construction (302.74 million), technology (200.19 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (92.46 million), property (256.52 million), plantation (26.95 million), REITs (19.01 million), closed/fund (36,000), energy (172.38 million), healthcare (116.31 million), telecommunications and media (34.34 million), transportation and logistics (112.25 million), utilities (53.63 million), and business trusts (1.67 million).

-- BERNAMA