FBM KLCI slips 1.02 pct to end below 1,500-level

KUALALUMPUR:BursaMalaysia reversed on Thursday’s strong gains with the key index closing below the 1,500-psychological mark yesterday on profit-taking and a weak external front.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) surged 4.04 per cent yesterday, partly driven by the appointment of Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition’s leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister.

At 5pm, the benchmark index fell 15.34 points or 1.02 per cent to finish at 1,486.54, from 1,501.88 on Thursday.

The market bellwether, which opened 0.18 of-a-point lower at 1,501.70 this morning, subsequently moved to its day’s high at 1,504.16, but thereafter slipped to its intraday low of 1,481.38 during the mid-morning session.

Market breadth was weaker with decliners outpacing advancers 630 to 346, while 361 counters were unchanged, 926 untraded, and 15 others suspended.

Turnover dwindled to 4.41 billion units worth RM2.75 billion versus 6.87 billion units worth RM4.19 billion Thursday.

Losses in technology stocks – Axiata and Maxis – dragged the composite index down by a combined 4.20 points, while Top Glove was the biggest loser among the 30 FBM KLCI index constituents, declining 7.5 sen or 7.61 per cent to 91 sen, with 87.3 million shares changing hands.

CGS-CIMB Securities Sdn Bhd, in a note, expects the PHled government might review the Single Wholesale Network (SWN) model for the rollout of 5G in Malaysia and its custodian Digital Nasional Bhd.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng reckoned that market sentiment would remain positive despite the emergence of profit-taking today and expected the FBM KLCI to break the 1,500 level again soon.

Regionally, the key indices were mostly in negative territory amid concerns over rising Covid-19 cases in China, while some investors were digesting economic data from the region, including Japan’s Consumer Price Index and Singapore’s gross domestic product readings, he told Bernama.

Among other heavyweights, Maybank lost nine sen to RM8.67, CIMB gave up seven sen to RM5.80, Tenaga erased 13 sen to RM8.78, while both Public Bank and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM4.52 and RM6.00 respectively.

However, Petronas Chemicals gained two sen to RM9.08 and Hong Leong Bank bagged 14 sen to RM20.84.

As for the actives, Advance Synergy dipped 5.5 sen to 20.5 sen, MMAG was flat at three sen, Infomina surged 13.5 sen to 53.5 sen, Malayan United Industries fell two sen to 10 sen, while Icon Offshore inched up half-a-sen to 15 sen. — Bernama