Bursa Malaysia Reverses Gains To Open Lower
KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia reversed yesterday's gains to open lower on Thursday, tracking losses across major regional markets as investors remained cautious over developments in West Asia.
At 9.13 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) erased 2.81 points to 1,676.15 from Wednesday's close of 1,678.96.
The key index opened 1.58 points lower at 1,677.38.
Market breadth was negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 374 to 112. A total of 271 counters were unchanged, 1,934 untraded and 21 suspended.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said in a research note that the market reacted to external cues as Wall Street closed sharply lower on developments in West Asia.
“In addition, the sell-off in technology stocks continued. Meanwhile, US May consumer price index excluding food and energy came in weaker than expected, but the headline reading, which includes all items, came in above 4 per cent, a three-year high,” it said.
On the home front, the firm said the FBM KLCI staged a minor recovery, ending near the 1,680 level in a choppy week.
“We expect the local bourse to remain well supported at prevailing levels and may see some accumulation. As such, we expect the index to hover within the 1,675-1,685 range today,” it added.
Among heavyweights, Maybank fell six sen to RM10.62, Public Bank was one sen easier at RM4.79, Tenaga Nasional gained four sen to RM14.26, CIMB slipped two sen to RM7.38, and IHH Healthcare rose three sen to RM8.70.
Among active stocks, Tanco, the most actively traded counter, fell 30 sen to 20 sen, triggering a suspension of intraday short selling in the counter. Meanwhile, ACE Market debutant MM Computer Systems added one sen to 23 sen, while VS Industry eased half a sen to 20.5 sen and Hong Seng Consolidated was flat at one sen.
Among top gainers, Hong Leong Industries rose 30 sen to RM18.30, Petronas Chemicals gained 12 sen to RM5.70, MISC and Hong Leong Bank added eight sen each to RM8.21 and RM20.98, respectively, while Petronas Gas fell six sen to RM17.22.
Among top losers, United Plantations slipped 56 sen to RM31.74, Ajinomoto fell 28 sen to RM14.80, Fraser and Neave declined 24 sen to RM25.54, while Bursa Malaysia and KESM were down 10 sen each to RM8.54 and RM3.63, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 44.94 points to 12,411.54, while the FBM Top 100 Index eased 44.47 points to 12,257.74 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index edged down 40.82 points to 12,375.67.
The FBM Mid 70 Index lost 167.16 points to 17,784.73, while the FBM ACE Index fell 33.97 points to 4,626.68.
By sector, the Financial Services Index gained 59.34 points to 19,523.07, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.03 of-a-point to 196.86, and the Energy Index added 3.57 points to 782.34, while the Plantation Index slipped 31.42 points to 8,762.80.
-- BERNAMA