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KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened marginally lower but turned positive thereafter in a mixed and cautious trading mode today, taking the cue from overnight weaker performance on Wall Street.
The United States’ benchmark S&P 500 closed 1.3% lower, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.3%, its worst day since mid-March, dealers said.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.56 of-a-point better at 1,597.35 from Tuesday’s close of 1,596.79.
The barometer index opened 0.67 of-a-point easier at 1,596.12.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 217 to 114, while 287 counters were unchanged, 1,618 untraded and 13 others suspended.
Total turnover stood at 200.07 million worth RM87.97 million.
In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI saw another session of pullback amid further profit-taking in banking and telecommunication heavyweights yesterday.
“Meanwhile, global sentiment may stay fragile amid concerns over more hawkish stance of the US Federal Reserve’s action to tame inflation. Also, we expect the unresolved tensions between Russia and Ukraine could limit the upside potential over the near term.
“Nevertheless, we expect the reopening of travel borders may continue to benefit the economy, while investors could position themselves ahead of the 15th general election (GE15), although the timeline is still uncertain,” it said.
On the commodities market, it noted that both crude oil and crude palm oil (CPO) prices remained elevated despite a mild pullback overnight.
For sectors in focus, the brokerage firm said traders might continue to focus on oil and gas, as well as plantations amid the elevated Brent oil and CPO prices.
“Meanwhile, recovery-themed sectors such as consumer, banking, transportation and logistics, and aviation may benefit following the reopening of borders. Besides, trading interest may build up on the construction and building material sector ahead of GE15,” it added.
Among heavyweights, Maybank added one sen to RM8.87, IHH Healthcare gained one sen to RM6.28, CIMB Group bagged two sen RM5.29, while Public Bank and Petronas Chemicals were flat at RM4.70 and RM9.85, respectively.
Of the actives, Dagang Nexchange shed two sen to RM1.09, Sapura Energy eased half-a-sen to four sen, Techna-X edged up half-a-sen to nine sen, Pappajack increased one sen to 50.5 sen, while SMTrack was flat at eight sen.
On the index board, FBMT 100 Index slid 10.39 points to 11,138.67, FBM Emas Index trimmed 11.73 points to 11,481.89, and FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 25.11 points to 12,114.87.
FBM 70 fell 70.88 points to 13,956.14 and FBM ACE shed 13.72 points to 5,850.80.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.14 of-a-point to 209.94, the Financial Services Index gained 7.07 points to 16,727.03, while the Plantation Index inched down 1.09 points to 8,172.18.
Meanwhile, the ringgit retreated from yesterday’s gains to open lower against the US dollar today, owing to global geopolitical tensions, said an analyst.
At 9am, the local currency fell to 4.2150/2185 versus the greenback from 4.2080/2125 at Tuesday’s close.
ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the war in Ukraine remains the main driver in the markets at the moment.
It was reported that a satellite image appears to show bodies lying in the street after Russian troops withdrew from Bucha, a town near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Echoing Diniz, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Dollar continues to march higher as risk aversion remains prevalent as Western allies are expected to up the ante on their sanctions against Russia.
“This followed a gruesome discovery in Bucha, where acts of brutality and criminality were at its worst,” he said.
Besides, the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) hawkish monetary stance, especially in respect of the shrinking of the Fed’s balance sheet, which would be accelerated starting next month, would boost the greenback.
“Given this, the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose 0.49% to 99.486 point,” he said.
As such, Afzanizam said the ringgit could stay weak between RM4.21 and RM4.22.
At the opening, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local unit appreciated against the British pound to 5.5069/5115 from 5.5297/5356 at Tuesday’s close and rose versus the euro to 4.5922/5961 from 4.6191/6241.
It also advanced vis-à-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.0979/1007 from 3.1048/1086 yesterday and gained against the Japanese yen to 3.4039/4070 from 3.4256/4295. – Bernama, April 6, 2022