Bursa ends broadly lower amid recession concerns

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended broadly lower yesterday, with the benchmark index heading towards the 1,400 psychological level in tandem with regional markets amid growing concerns about a global recession.

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 8.98 points, or 0.64 per cent, to settle at 1,401.89 from Tuesday’s close of 1,410.87.

The benchmark index, which opened 3.55 points easier at 1,407.32, moved between 1,400.41 and 1,409.13 throughout the day.

On the broader market, decliners trounced gainers 644 to 233, while 344 counters were unchanged, 1,177 untraded, and 38 others suspended.

Total turnover eased to 2.14 billion units worth RM2.06 billion from Tuesday’s 2.28 billion units worth RM1.92 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vicepresident of equity research Thong Pak Leng said market sentiment in the domestic market has remained jittery given the heightened market volatility, although bargain hunting may prevail.

“However, we believe the FBM KLCI remained in an oversold position at the present level.

“Hence, we expect the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1400-1,420 for the remaining of the week.

“From a technical point of view, immediate support will be seen at 1,400 while resistance at 1,465,” he told Bernama.

Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 1.49 per cent to 3,117.30, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid 1.50 per cent to 26,173.98 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 3.41 per cent to 17,250.88.

“Regional key indices closed sharply lower as the US Treasury yields have advanced sharply on expectations of further acceleration in the interest rates by the US Federal Reserve,” said Thong.

Among Bursa Malaysia’s heavyweight stocks, Public Bank advanced five sen to RM4.26, Petronas Chemicals and IHH Healthcare added two sen each to RM8.37 and RM5.93, respectively, while Press Metal Aluminium was flat at RM4. Maybank eased one sen to RM8.56.

Of the actives, PT Resources rallied 4.5 sen to 41.5 sen, Serba Dinamik was flat at 2.5 sen, and Top Glove declined two sen to 59 sen. SNS Network discounted one sen to 27 sen and Sapura Energy inched down half a sen to four sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 70.49 points to 10,009.45, the FBM 70 eased 80.66 points to 12,166.65, and the FBMT 100 Index declined 63.0 points to 9,760.51.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 102.79 points to 10,073.77 and the FBM ACE shed 52.48 points to 4,655.9. — Bernama