KUALA LUMPUR (May 28): Bursa Malaysia snapped a three-day winning streak by opening lower on Friday, as profit-taking kicked in amid mixed sentiments.
-Advertisement-
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) lost 12.92 points, or 0.81%, to 1,580.98 from 1,593.9 at Thursday’s close.
The index opened 8.73 points lower at 1,585.17.
Market breadth was slightly positive with gainers leading losers 227 to 211, while 227 counters were unchanged, 1,523 untraded and 73 others suspended.
Total volume stood at 411.4 million units worth RM160.35 million.
Despite the weaker opening, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd believes market sentiment may turn positive as the recovery theme is gaining traction following the release of growing earnings in selected corporates this reporting season.
“Moreover, the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination programme should support the economic recovery moving forward, and investors should shift from pandemic beneficiaries to reopening of economic activities theme,” it said in a note.
Technical-wise, the brokerage firm said should the FBM KLCI trade above 1,590, it should recover to the next resistance level at 1,600, while support is set at 1,555-1,565.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI again experienced some last-minute buying over the last two days, which has been rather strong of late.
-Advertisement-
“Nonetheless, whether this is sustainable remains to be seen. The index is expected to hover within a 1,590-1,600 range today,” it said in a separate note.
Among the heavyweights, Maxis Bhd fell 12 sen to RM4.67, Public Bank Bhd declined five sen to RM4.22, Axiata Group Bhd lost six sen to RM3.62, Petronas Dagangan Bhd shrank 70 sen to RM18.78, and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd retreated 44 sen to RM17.80.
Petronas Dagangan and Hong Leong Financial were also among the top laggards across the board.
Other top losers included Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, which shed 50 sen to RM37.30; Mega First Corp Bhd, which reduced 33 sen to RM7.27; and KESM Industries Bhd, which contracted 30 sen to RM11.68.
Of the actives, Kanger International Bhd and Sanichi Technology Bhd warrant increased 1.5 sen each to 11.5 sen and two sen respectively, Dagang NeXchange Bhd added one sen to 81 sen, while its warrant eased half-a-sen to 28.5 sen, and Tanco Holdings Bhd was unchanged at 15 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 61.27 points to 11,537.26 and the FBMT 100 Index skidded 71.71 points to 11,218.03.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index dwindled 38.24 points to 12,853.59, the FBM 70 weakened 17.77 points to 14,935.13, while the FBM ACE gained 6.86 points to 7,944.33.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dipped 189.44 points to 14,943.06, the Plantation Index erased 47.34 points to 6,917.29, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.37 of-a-point to 194.02.- BERNAMA