KUALA LUMPUR (May 31): Persistent selling of index-linked counters in a knee-jerk reaction ahead of a lockdown dragged Bursa Malaysia lower before the lunch break.

Malaysia will enter another lockdown tomorrow, with only very specific essential services allowed to remain operational, as the number of daily new cases hit a record high of over 9,000 with the daily death toll near 100.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI had shed 15.99 points, or 1%, to 1,578.45 from 1,594.44 at last Friday’s close.

The index opened 23.4 points lower at 1,571.04, and hovered between 1,568.47 and 1,583.20 throughout the morning trading session.

Market breadth remained negative with losers outpacing gainers 866 to 185, while 298 counters were unchanged, 832 untraded and 58 others suspended.

Total volume stood at 4.2 billion units worth RM2.1 billion.

The local bourse was trading in the red today, with traders being in cautious mode and remaining on the sidelines ahead of the two-week full movement control order (FMCO) from tomorrow.

While economists projected that the lockdown could have shaved the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth expectations, some believe that the current sentiment would pose buying opportunities on the equity market.

Public Investment Bank Bhd and Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd, for example, have maintained their year-end KLCI targets of 1,700 points.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd feels that local stocks may face selling pressure following the National Security Council’s decision to improse the FMCO. However, investors may focus on vaccine or pharmaceutical-related stocks amid the ongoing vaccination programme.

“Besides, sectors such as technology and shipping that are linked globally, as well as PPE (personal protective equipment)-related, should continue to be operational under the FMCO and should get traders’ attention,” it said in a note today.

Among the 30 heavyweights, Top Glove Corp Bhd rose six sen to RM5.15.

Among other heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) lost six sen to RM8.14, Public Bank Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) declined seven sen each to RM4.20 and RM9.92 respectively, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) was 14 sen weaker at RM8.

As for the top losers, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd, which was in the midst of appointing an independent firm, saw its shares declined 48 sen to RM1.13, while Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd also slashed 48 sen to RM5.20 and Hong Leong Bank Bhd was 36 sen lower at RM18.24.

Among the actives, HB Global Ltd rose 3.5 sen to 32.5 sen and ManagePay Systems Bhd added one sen to RM24 sen, while Kumpulan Jetson Bhd slipped 2.5 sen to 56 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gave up 115.85 points to 11,462.65 and the FBMT 100 Index skidded 109.08 points to 11,167.52.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index dwindled 107.76 points to 12,739.28, the FBM 70 weakened 128.25 points to 14,741.40, and the FBM ACE contracted 130.16 points to 7,713.72.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index lost 211.68 points to 14,955.45, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 2.87 points to 190.22, and the Plantation Index slipped 31.70 points to 6,876.76.

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