KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 14): Bursa Malaysia opened lower today on lack of buying interest despite Wall Street’s steadier overnight performance.
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At 9.05am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had fallen 0.76 of a point to 1,569.37 from yesterday’s close at 1,570.13.
It opened 0.58 of a point lower at 1,569.55.
However, market breadth was positive with gainers leading losers 198 to 144, while 279 counters were unchanged, 1,647 untraded and six others suspended.
Turnover stood at 166.81 million units worth RM87.51 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the market may be cushioned by potential bargain-hunting activities this week following Wall Street’s positive rebound, coupled with stability of the local political landscape after the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the federal coalition and Pakatan Harapan yesterday.
“As for commodities, both crude palm oil (CPO) and crude oil prices advanced, while aluminium prices continued to charge higher.
“Hence, we expect bargain-hunting activities to continue for recovery-themed stocks such as banking, consumer and tourism, especially in the domestic travel segment,” the research house said in a note today.
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It said investors may also trade in plantation and oil and gas (O&G) counters amid firmer commodity prices.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) was flat at RM8.30, Public Bank Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd were two sen lower at RM4.04 and RM4.82 respectively, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) rose three sen to RM8.02.
Of the actives, Kejuruteraan Asastera Bhd bagged one sen to 39.5 sen and Dataprep Holdings Bhd increased four sen to RM1.19, while Avillion Bhd and Tanco Holdings Bhd were flat at 15.5 sen and 23.5 sen respectively.
Top losers included SAM Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd, which contracted 18 sen to RM14.56, followed by Genetec Technology Bhd, which lost 12 sen to RM32.94, and Maxis Bhd, which reduced 10 sen to RM4.66.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 2.20 points to 11,483.56, the FBMT 100 Index was 0.18 of a point higher at 11,172.87 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 12.53 points to 12,582.14.
The FBM 70 went up 22.03 points to 15,020.65, while the FBM ACE rose 5.00 points to 7,224.11.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index gained 8,57 points to 6,589.64, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.94 of a point to 201.58, while the Financial Services Index slipped 28.82 points to 15,344.73.-BERNAMA