KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — Bursa Malaysia slipped again today as buying interest remained tepid with the cautious mood persisting despite improved sentiment across the region.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) retreated 3.99 points to 1,450.20 from Tuesday’s closing of 1,454.19.
The index opened 0.19 point higher at 1,454.38.
Market breadth was negative with decliners outpacing advancers 528 to 436, while 358 counters were unchanged, 881 untraded, and 20 others suspended.
Turnover dipped to 3.21 billion units worth RM2.04 billion from yesterday's 4.63 billion units worth RM3.95 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the positive China factory activity data failed to boost the overall market performance as domestic sentiment remained cautious.
Regional bourses ended mostly higher, particularly in China and Hong Kong after its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 52.6 in February for the highest reading since April 2012.
"Today's selldown seems unjustified, so we reckon bargain hunting will emerge anytime soon.
"Moreover, the FBM KLCI is near an oversold level, hence providing opportunities for investors to accumulate stocks at attractive levels given their cheaper valuations,'’ he told Bernama.
Heavyweight counters Tenaga Nasional lost 9.0 sen to RM9.28, IHH fell 8.0 sen to RM5.71 and Axiata dropped 4.0 sen to RM3.13. Maybank dipped 2 sen to RM8.78 and MISC went down 13 sen to RM7.43.
Maxis rose 5.0 sen to RM3.96 and Public Bank advanced 1.0 sen to RM4.14.
As for active stocks, Icon Offshore tumbled 3.0 sen to 9.0 sen, Velesto was half-a-sen higher at 19.5 sen while MYEG and Tanco improved 1.5 sen each to 73.5 sen and 46.5 sen, respectively. — Bernama