KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 — Bursa Malaysia retreated from its recent gains to open lower this morning due to profit-taking activities following Wall Street’s weak overnight performance.
At 9.02am, key index FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 9.49 points to 1,378.3 from 1,387.79 at Wednesday’s close.
The key index opened 5.83 points easier at 1,381.96.
There were 103 gainers 164 losers, while 173 counters were unchanged, 1,464 untraded and 19 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 166.65 million worth RM47.45 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said after making decent headway over the past two sessions, the key index is again near the toppish zone, which could limit further gains over the near-term.
As it is, the slower growth on the Malaysian economy is still unfolding which might trigger quick profit-taking as investors turned their attention to the upcoming slew of economic data, the research firm said.
“We see Wall Street’s overnight negative performance to also permeate to the local market and see a pullback as volatility returns to the fore.
“Nevertheless, we reckon that the 1,340 level plays key support over the near term, while any surprise upsides may see gains capping at the 1,400 psychological level,” it said in a note today.
As for the lower liners and broader market shares, Malacca Securities anticipated the near-term outlook was still largely indifferent with the lack of catalysts.
“Consequently, we think that further near-term upsides could be tempered by bouts of selling activities as retail players would be quick to lock-in their profits,” it added.
Among heavyweights, Maybank eased four sen to RM7.60, Tenaga trimmed six sen to RM12.18, Public Bank lost eight sen to RM15.76, IHH Healthcare slipped one sen to RM5.22, and Petronas Chemicals erased 18 sen to RM5.24.
CIMB added one sen to RM3.57 while Maxis was flat at RM5.30.
Of the actives, Xidelang bagged 1.5 sen to 8.5 sen, Hibiscus edged down 1.5 sen to 46 sen, while both Hubline and Metronic were flat at five sen and 2.5 sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 50.32 points lower at 9,559.18, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 64.78 points to 10,581.62, while the FBMT 100 Index declined 51.48 points to 9,453.93.
The FBM 70 shed 5.09 points to 11,305.98 and the FBM Ace lost 6.04 points to 4,301.75.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 1.13 points to 114.24, the Financial Services Index contracted 36.43 points to 12,381.27 while the Plantation Index depreciated 63.85 points to 6,222.78. — Bernama