Bursa Malaysia Erases Early Gains To End Lower On Profit-Taking

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia erased early gains to end lower today as profit-taking emerged following recent gains. 

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 5.44 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 1,742.82 from yesterday’s close of 1,748.26. 

The market bellwether opened 1.84 points lower at 1,746.42, and subsequently hit an intraday high of 1,751.22 in early trade before slipping to its day’s low of 1,740.49 during the mid-afternoon session.

In the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 602 to 462, with 558 counters unchanged, 1,013 counters untraded and six suspended.

Turnover declined to 2.59 billion shares valued at RM2.86 billion from yesterday's 3.25 billion shares valued at RM3.34 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices closed mostly higher as selling in technology stocks was offset by renewed interest in industrial, financial and energy counters.

“Meanwhile, investor sentiment remained cautious after US President Donald Trump named former Federal Reserve (Fed) governor Kevin Warsh as his choice for the next Fed chair, with his hawkish reputation fuelling expectations of higher-for-longer interest rates,” he told Bernama. 

Back home, Thong views today's profit-taking as a healthy pause as it allows the market to digest recent gains and build a stronger base before the next rally.

“As such, we maintain our weekly FBM KLCI target at between 1,730 and 1,760,” he added. 

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI closed lower today, reflecting a sentiment spillover from global markets.

“Overnight performance on Wall Street saw technology stocks lead a sharp pullback, as investors reassessed elevated valuations in artificial intelligence- and software-related names.

“Although the FBM KLCI has no direct exposure to the technology sector, major global benchmarks continue to act as sentiment anchors. Consequently, risk aversion in global technology translated into tactical de-risking and profit-taking across regional markets, including Malaysia,” he said. 

Among heavyweights, IHH Healthcare added 8.0 sen to RM8.96, Public Bank slid 4.0 sen to RM4.91, CIMB gave up 6.0 sen to RM8.50, Tenaga Nasional shed 2.0 sen to RM14.10, while Maybank was flat at RM11.94.

On the most active list, NetX and Tanco gained 1.0 sen each to 5.5 sen and RM1.34, respectively, Zetrix AI eased 1.5 sen lower to 80 sen, while Pharmaniaga and Capital A were flat at 32.5 sen and 59.5 sen, respectively. 

Among the top gainers, United Plantations climbed 62 sen to RM29.80, Fraser & Neave gained 56 sen to RM35.36, Dutch Lady Milk Industries firmed 24 sen to RM33.52, QL Resources perked up 16 sen to RM4.16, and Hong Leong Financial Group added 14 sen to RM22.76. 

Malaysian Pacific Industries led the decliners, falling 56 sen to RM32.50, Petronas Dagangan declined 36 sen to RM19.96, Nestle lost 30 sen to RM111.90, Pentamaster shed 13 sen to RM3.19, and Sunway Construction Group slid 12 sen to RM6.00.

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index decreased 24.71 points to 12,572.61, the FBM Emas Index slipped 22.70 points to 12,753.71, the FBM Emas Shariah Index trimmed 11.57 points to 12,286.0, the FBM ACE Index slid 10.90 points to 4,696.15, while the FBM Mid 70 Index increased 31.14 points to 17,508.88.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index shrank 42.14 points to 21,482.31, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.86 of-a-point to 176.58, but the Plantation Index added 11.90 points to 8,384.95, and the Energy Index rose 5.83 points to 755.91. 

The Main Market volume declined to 1.53 billion units worth RM2.65 billion from Tuesday's 1.73 billion units worth RM3.06 billion.

Warrants turnover fell to 650.30 million units worth RM81.10 million from 1.03 billion units worth RM123.86 million previously.

The ACE Market volume dropped to 409.26 million units worth RM121.48 million from 504.24 million units worth RM148.01 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 224.67 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (214.17 million), construction (155.29 million), technology (190.27 million), financial services (109.96 million), property (202.63 million), plantation (25.14 million), real estate investment trusts (27.41 million), closed-end fund (361,900), energy (72.23 million), healthcare (198.43 million), telecommunications and media (47.94 million), transportation and logistics (37.18 million), utilities (26.66 million), and business trusts (366,200).

-- BERNAMA