KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia started Wednesday on a weak note as the FBM KLCI fell more than seven points, dragged down by losses in Maybank and Maxis while Petronas Dagangan and Genting Bhd
fell in relatively thin trade.
At 10.52am, the KLCI was down 7.35 points or 0.43% to 1,715.12. Turnover was 667.14 million shares valued at RM282.94mil. There were 209 gainers, 301 losers and 334 counters unchanged.
On the external front, Reuters reported the US dollar was on tenterhooks in Asian trading on Wednesday as investors waited anxiously to see what clues the US Federal Reserve would soon reveal on its monetary policy outlook.
The US central bank began its two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday. With the futures market pricing in more than a 90% chance that it would raise interest rates, investors' main focus turned to what its statement would say about the pace of hikes this year, the wire report said.
At Bursa, local institutions and retailers had been selling while foreign funds were seen buying, based on recent stock market data.
On Tuesday, foreign funds continued to pick up stocks on Bursa, with net buying at RM115.7mil while local institutions and retail investors were net sellers at RM61.9mil and RM53.8mil.
Kenanga Investment Bank Research said looking at the KLCI’s daily chart, the underlying index primary short-term trend is still up given that it is trading along and above its 20-day SMA trend line.
“Indecision among investors is showcased by the ‘Doji’ candlestick, while the absence of any direct signal from the flattish MACD, RSI and Stochastic suggest that the FBMKLCI could likely continue to be range bounded within 1,717/1,720 (S1)-1,730 (R1) in the near-term.
“With the local bourse attempting to test its immediate R1 level, a decisive takeout of the R1 level would open the path for the key index towards 1,740 (R2) next. On the flip side, reluctance to go beyond the 1,730 (R1) level would see the benchmark index continuing on its sideways mode,” it said.
Petronas Dagangan extended its decline, falling 16 sen to RM23.76 while Genting Bhd was down nine sen to RM9.51. Maybank fell nine sen to RM8.76 and Maxis seven sen lower at RM6.36.
Among the consumer stocks, BAT fell 12 sen to RM46.88 and Carlsberg lost six sen to RM14.42.
Petron was down eight sen to RM5.74 and Gas Malaysia lost seven sen to RM2.89.
Litrak was the top gainer, up 13 sen to RM5.98, Hai-O added nine sen to RM4.75 while Karex gained seven sen to RM2.14.
Spritzer rose seven sen to RM2.30 after it announced that FMR LLC, part of United States-based Fidelity Investments, emerged as a substantial shareholder with a 5.07% stake.
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