KUALA LUMPUR: The performance of our local bourse was limited as profit taking activities kicked in.
The bellwether FBM KLCI rose 0.45 of-a-point higher at 1,772.75 owing to profit-taking activity due to lack of compelling leads on the horizon. The index opened 1.95 points higher at 1,774.25 this moving. It moved between 1,770.7 and 1,774.43 throughout the morning session.
In the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers with 234 stocks ending higher and 560 stocks finishing lower while 333 counters were unchanged. Trading volume stood at 1.213 billion shares worth RM637.62mil.
Last week, US markets were flat with the Nasdaq and S&P ended slightly higher to extend their record highs. European stocks closed lower after being dragged by energy companies following lower oil prices.
“Following the lacklustre performance last week, the FBM KLCI is expected to remain sideways below the resistance of 1,785 points,” JF Apex said.
Meanwhile, Hong Leong Investment Bank Research (HLIB) said profit taking activities may pick up as on-going reporting season mostly priced in.
It said in the US, the buying interest may turn softer as market heads into month of June with the anticipation of potential interest rates hike, coupled with the weaker crude oil prices after the OPEC decision.
Also, investors may monitor few key economic data that will be released over the week such as the US jobs report, China’s and UK’s manufacturing data.
“Meanwhile, share prices on Bursa Malaysia could see further selling pressure after the FBM KLCI rejected 1,780 several times over the past two weeks.
“Also, with the final week of the financial reporting season, we opine that most of the trading activities are likely to slow down as investors may need to reassess the financial health of the companies in order to reaffirm their trading strategy,” HLIB said.
On Bursa Malaysia, Panasonic Manufacturing
was the top gainer, rising 46 sen to RM37, Allianz rose 36 sen to RM12.36 while Aeon Credit added 20 sen to RM19.38.
The top losers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, British American Tobacco and Time Dotcom.
As for the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals fell 9 sen to RM7.31, Genting Malaysia and Digi.com lost 7 sen each to RM6.09 and RM4.99 respectively.
Elsewhere in the region, Asian shares closed mostly higher with Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.13%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.72%, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.1% and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong advanced 0.14%.
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