By Siti Radziah Hamzah
KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed mixed today amid the absence of fresh leads.
At 5 pm, the benchmark index fell 7.27 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 1,548.87 from Monday’s close of 1,556.14.
The benchmark index had opened 0.78 of-a-point higher at 1,556.92 and fluctuated between 1,545.77 and 1,561.10 throughout the trading session.
In the broader market, gainers edged losers 478 to 458, while 496 counters were unchanged, 977 untraded and 17 suspended.
Turnover decreased to 2.61 billion units worth RM1.98 billion against Monday’s 3.71 billion units worth RM2.27 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said that despite stronger performances in major markets such as Hong Kong, China and Japan, the FBM KLCI ended lower in line with the broader regional emerging market declines.
He added that investors’ focus shifts to the upcoming vote in the US House on a President Donald Trump-backed tax reform, alongside potential developments in trade talks
“Fundamentally, the mid-term prospects remain positive, supported by compelling valuations, stronger corporate earnings and a recovering economy. Hence, we see the FBM KLCI trending within the 1,540-1,570 range for the remainder of the week,” he told Bernama.
Thong noted that selling pressures were seen on consumer, banks and plantation stocks with buying on energy, property and REITs.
Among heavyweights, Public Bank increased three sen to RM4.52, Tenaga Nasional advanced four sen to RM14.14, Petronas Gas jumped 14 sen to RM17.72, Hong Leong Bank and Press Metal were flat at RM19.90 and RM4.96 respectively, while Maybank slipped 10 sen to RM10.04.
For active stocks, ACE Market debutant PEOPLElogy and Tanco rose 1.5 sen each to 26.5 sen and 95.5 sen, NexG increased half-a-sen to 38 sen, Velesto was flat at 16.5 sen, and Gamuda eased five sen to RM4.52.
-- BERNAMA
