KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 30): Bursa Malaysia extended Tuesday’s losses to open easier on Wednesday (Nov 30), while sentiments were mixed on Wall Street overnight.
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At 9.05am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had fallen by 3.88 points to 1,473.08, from Tuesday’s closing at 1,476.96.
The market bellwether opened 0.74 of a point lower at 1,476.22.
There were 145 gainers and 152 losers on the broader market, while 254 counters were unchanged, 1,739 untraded and 67 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 353.69 million units worth RM75.44 million.
In a research note on Wednesday, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the KLCI was taking a mild breather amid profit-taking activities in selected glove heavyweights, following the conclusion of the 15th general election.
Additionally, with Wall Street ending mixed a day ago ahead of US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s speech on the inflation battle into 2023, the uncertain sentiment may spill over towards the local front, it said.
“Nevertheless, traders could focus on the ongoing reporting season to uncover undervalued gems,” it said.
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Meanwhile, the market was still waiting for the formation of the Cabinet, which may provide clues about Malaysia’s growth going forward, the stockbroking firm said.
“Given the uncertain setup, we expect investors to focus on defensive sectors, such as the telecommunications, utility as well as consumer sectors.
“We opine that the focus may shift to construction and building material stocks ahead of the retabling of Budget 2023, and the oil and gas sector could do well under the firm Brent crude oil price environment,” it added.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) was three sen lower at RM8.67 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd too lost three sen to RM5.79, while Public Bank Bhd erased one sen to RM4.40, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd went down eight sen to RM8.44, and IHH Healthcare Bhd decreased four sen to RM5.91.
Of the actives, MMAG Holdings Bhd was unchanged at three sen and Zen Tech International Bhd was flat at 4.5 sen, Leform Bhd eased three sen to 20 sen and SMTrack Bhd inched down half a sen to 5.5 sen, while MQ Technology Bhd gained half a sen to 5.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index weakened 15.79 points to 10,528.72, the FBMT 100 Index contracted 16.21 points to 10,243.70, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 11.89 points to 10,650.68.
Meanwhile, the FBM ACE strengthened 27.61 points to 5,224.33, and the FBM 70 went up 22.90 points to 12,719.27.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 53.65 points lower at 16,595.40, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.33 of a point to 181.25, and the Energy Index trimmed 7.06 points to 756.85, while the Plantation Index ticked up 8.54 points to 6,815.77.-BERNAMA