KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 3): Bursa Malaysia remained lower at midday on Tuesday (Jan 3), with selling pressures seen in index-linked counters, especially in Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and IHH Healthcare Bhd.
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The benchmark FBM KLCI ended the morning session 18.03 points weaker at 1,477.46, from last Friday’s closing at 1,495.49.
The market bellwether opened 6.95 points lower at 1,488.54, and had swung to a low of 1,477.11 during the morning session.
Market breadth was negative, with losers outpacing gainers 477 to 280 gainers, while 379 counters were unchanged, 1,079 untraded, and 13 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.56 billion units worth RM740.07 million.
In a note, Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) said it expects the local bourse to pull back in the near term after the window-dressing activities in December, while investors digest the Covid-19 situation in China.
“Nevertheless, we believe the reopening of business activities and travel borders in China should be able to alleviate the recession risk going forward,” the investment bank said in a note on Tuesday.
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It added that trading interest in commodities-related sectors such as energy and plantation may be sustained, given the firm prices of commodities.
“Meanwhile, investors may continue to focus on value and defensive stocks, such as banking and telecommunications, to weather through the challenging environment,” HLIB said.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) eased one sen to RM8.69 a share, Public Bank Bhd declined two sen to RM4.30, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd went down five sen to RM8.55, and Digi.Com Bhd shed nine sen to RM3.91.
As for the actives, ACE-Market debutant L&P Global Bhd surged 19 sen to 49 sen, Citaglobal Bhd rose 2.5 sen to 31.5 sen and Cypark Resources Bhd gained 3.5 sen to 50.5 sen, while both MMAG Holdings Bhd and Borneo Oil Bhd inched down half a sen to two sen, and Top Glove Corp Bhd slipped 2.5 sen to 88 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dipped 102.94 points to 10,598.61, the FBMT 100 Index narrowed 106.01 points to 10,313.79, the FBM Emas Shariah Index plunged 130.20 points to 10,808.35, and the FBM 70 Index reduced 47.08 points to 12,967.94, while the FBM ACE Index garnered 7.37 points to 5,315.70.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dwindled 113.86 points to 16,387.45, the Plantation Index slid 56.46 points to 7,028.22, and the Industrial Products and Services Index gave up 0.88 of a point to 180.90, while the Energy Index added 3.34 points to 779.53. -BERNAMA