Bursa Malaysia bucks regional trend to end lower

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia bucked the regional trend to end the session lower, weighed down by selling in heavyweights led by Axiata, analysts said.

Axiata contributed 2.766 points to the barometer index’s loss on news that it would likely reject the joint offer made by Keppel Corporation and Singapore Press Holdings to acquire the remaining shares in Singapore’s telecommunications company, M1 Ltd. Axiata holds a 28.3 per cent stake in M1.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI ( FBM KLCI) was 5.49 points lower to close at 1,793.15 versus Thursday’s close of 1,798.64.

After opening 2.73 points lower yesterday at 1,795.91, the index moved between 1,791.10 and 1,798.68 throughout the session.

However, on the broader market, gainers led losers by 434 to 395, with 415 counters unchanged, 678 untraded and 91 others suspended.

Volume increased to 2.11 billion units worth RM2.58 billion, from 1.99 billion units valued at RM2.05 billion recorded on Thursday.

A dealer said most Asian stocks ended higher today led by Japan, taking cue from the overnight gains on Wall Street and a weaker yen, as the US dollar strengthened further after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rate and signalled its confidence in the US economy.

“A stronger dollar often helps Asia’s export-heavy markets as investors anticipate increased US demand for their goods,” he said.

On the local front, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee said the FBM KLCI had been flattish over the last two days but ended lower on selling in selected heavyweights.

“I reckon the market was in a tug of war between the US rate hike and improved crude oil prices,” he said.

In regional markets, Singapore’s Strait Times index added 0.64 per cent to 3,257.05, Japan’s Nikkei 225 increased 1.36 per cent to 24,120.04, Shanghai’s SSE Index rose 1.06 per cent to 2,821.35, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained by 0.26 per cent to 27,788.52.67 while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.52 per cent to 2,343.07.

Among heavyweights, Maybank added 25 sen to RM9.79, Tenaga fell six sen to RM15.46, Petronas Chemicals and CIMB Group slid two sen each to RM9.36 and RM6.01 respectively while Public Bank was flat at RM25.

For actives, Sapura Energy eased 1.5 sen to 41 sen, Orion IXL improved one sen to 9.5 sen, Globaltec edged up half-a-sen to five sen, Hibiscus Petroleum gained four sen to RM1.26 and Velesto Energy shed one sen to 28 sen.

The FBM Emas Index was 13.93 points lower at 12,533.22, the FBMT 100 Index erased 15.84 points to 12,336.84 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 23.24 points to 12,678.56.

The FBM Ace Index jumped 142.44 points to 5,386.69, while the FBM 70 rose 65.65 points to 14,873.26.

Sector- wise, the Plantation Index fell 23.32 points to 7,539.94 and the Finance Index slipped 13.92 points to 17,799.45, but the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.03 of-a-point to 177.56.

Main Market volume decreased to 1.37 billion shares worth RM2.44 billion, from 1.42 billion shares worth RM1.92 billion on Thursday.

Warrants’ turnover rose to 343.30 million units valued at RM76.13 million, from 299.07 million units valued at RM66.82 million previously.

Volume on the ACE Market increased to 396.76 million units worth RM65.10 million, from 274.41 million units worth RM67.09 million on Thursday.

Consumer products and services accounted for 200.68 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services ( 316.14 million), construction ( 59.02 million), technology ( 121.51 million), SPAC (60,900), financial services (53.28 million), property (81.76 million), plantations (37.84 million), REITs (9.01 million), closed/ fund ( 1,100), energy (349.50 million), healthcare (29.31 million), telecommunication and media ( 51.84 million), transportation and logistics (12.87 million) and utilities (45.74 million).