KUALA LUMPUR (April 28): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session easier, driven by persistent selling in selected heavyweights amid mixed sentiment in the regional markets, dealers said.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 5.84 points to 1,600.84 from Tuesday’s close of 1,606.68.
The market bellwether opened 0.16 of-a-point lower at 1,606.52 and moved between 1,597.79 and 1,606.67 throughout the session.
The overall market breadth remained negative with 556 losers versus 404 gainers, while 414 counters were unchanged, 818 untraded and 54 suspended.
Total volume stood at 4.06 billion shares worth RM2.04 billion.
In a research note today, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said the local index was expected to again trend within the 1,600-1,610 range amid the weak market undertone.
“The FBM KLCI that breached the 1,620 level on Monday succumbed again to profit-taking as the index declined almost 17 points to close below the 1,610 again yesterday. Though we noticed foreign funds were buying, it was the local institutions that sold in the market yesterday.
“Wall Street closed the session flat as traders were sidelined ahead of corporate results from the big guns. Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield surpassed the 1.6% mark to close at 1.62%. We reckon regional markets will remain mixed as trading is seen to be rather muted,” it said.
Meanwhile, a dealer said there could be some light at the end of the tunnel for the local oil and gas (O&G) sector as the government was taking steps to revive the sector.
He said the O&G services and equipment (OGSE) sector had been stuck in the doldrums, with many companies sitting on huge debts following the 2014 crude oil price rout.
“Last year’s Covid-19 pandemic has put further strain on the industry. Yesterday, the government launched its first blueprint, dubbed as the National OGSE Industry Blueprint 2021-2030, focusing on the O&G service providers that have been badly hit due to the Covid-19 fallout.
“It aims to provide direction for OGSE companies to improve their competitiveness, efficiency and technological capabilities,” he said.
Heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd, Public Bank Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd dropped one sen each to RM8.25, RM4.16 and RM7.84 respectively, and Top Glove Corp Bhd slipped 15 sen to RM5.63 while Tenaga Nasional Bhd rose one sen to RM9.99.
Of the active counters, Vortex Consolidated Bhd and Focus Dynamics Group Bhd were flat at 15 sen and 13 sen respectively, but Nova MSC Bhd went up two sen to 16.5 sen and Tanco Holdings Bhd added one sen to 6.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dipped 44.29 points to 11,803.69, the FBMT 100 went down 41.15 points to 11,458.97, the FBM 70 was 53.48 points lower at 15,644.53, the FBM Emas Shariah lost 87.23 points to 13,255.19, and the FBM ACE gained 5.88 points to 8,912.36.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index shrank 9.65 points to 6,842.89, the Financial Services Index was weaker by 2.63 points at 14,949.21 and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.57 of-a-point to 196.24.
