Bursa Malaysia Slips On Profit-taking After Recent Gains

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed lower today in tandem with profit-taking across regional markets after the recent gains, amid cautious sentiment ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision on Wednesday.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 4.82 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 1,613.56 from Monday’s close of 1,618.38.

The benchmark index opened 1.85 points firmer to 1,620.23 and moved between 1,610.18 and 1,620.23 throughout the trading session.

Market breadth was negative with 751 losers trouncing 331 gainers, while 476 counters were unchanged, 1,166 untraded, and 36 suspended.

Turnover expanded to 3.86 billion units worth RM3.03 billion compared with 3.44 billion units worth RM2.91 billion on Monday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said sentiment turned cautious as investors awaited key policy signals from the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) two-day meeting, which begins today and will conclude tomorrow.

“The Fed is widely expected to announce a 25-basis-point rate cut, marking a pivotal moment for global monetary direction. Traders are holding back fresh positions ahead of the decision.

“On the local front, the benchmark index continues to consolidate above the 1,600 level. A firm breakout above 1,630 with strong volume could attract renewed buying interest,” he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank eased three sen to RM9.88, Public Bank inched down one sen to RM4.21, CIMB Group lost six sen to RM7.39, Tenaga Nasional decreased 14 sen to RM13.22, while IHH Healthcare gave up seven sen to RM8.28.

On the most active list, Perak Transit rose six sen to 39.5 sen, Borneo Oil was unchanged at half-a-sen, Powertechnic Group eased two sen to 33 sen, Zetrix AI dipped 1.5 sen to 83.5 sen, and Pharmaniaga slid 1.5 sen to 24 sen.

Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries which surged RM1.08 to RM31.62, Nestle gained 50 sen to RM107.10, SAM Engineering added 31 sen to RM4.93, Dutch Lady improved 20 sen to RM26.30, and MISC advanced 11 sen to RM7.86.

Among top losers, UMS Integration tumbled 95 sen to RM4.85, United Plantations sank 42 sen to RM24.08, Kelington Group fell 29 sen to RM5.35, Fraser & Neave shed 22 sen to RM28.32, and Time dotCom declined 12 sen to RM4.69.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 42.91 points to 12,066.09, the FBMT 100 Index declined 37.27 points to 11,807.36, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 47.90 points to 12,152.01, the FBM 70 Index dipped 63.03 points to 17,183.53, and the FBM ACE Index plummeted 56.50 points to 5,180.25.

By sector, the Financial Services Index decreased 56.61 points to 18,193.30, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.30 points to 170.95, the Energy Index lost 10.31 points to 773.08, and the Plantation Index tumbled 37.34 points to 7,979.08.

The Main Market volume improved to 2.01 billion units valued at RM2.68 billion from 1.77 billion units valued at RM2.49 billion on Monday.

Warrants turnover expanded to 1.34 billion units worth RM152.13 million compared with 1.08 billion units worth RM124.39 million previously.

The ACE Market volume shrank to 502.65 million units valued at RM193.25 million from 587.10 million units valued at RM291.77 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 524.25 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (360.01 million), construction (101.02 million), technology (245.17 million), financial services (84.16 million), property (205.54 million), plantation (43.01 million), real estate investment trusts (34.67 million), closed-end fund (7,200), energy (90.92 million), healthcare (128.11 million), telecommunications and media (67.26 million), transportation and logistics (79.39 million), utilities (43.94 million), and business trusts (269,800).

-- BERNAMA