Bursa Malaysia ends lower for third consecutive day

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended lower for the third consecutive day today, dragged by continued profit-taking in selected industrial products and services, as well as plantation counters, amid weaker sentiments on the regional markets, dealers said.

At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.89 points to 1,518.85 from Wednesday's close of 1,520.74.

Press Metal and Sime Darby Plantation shed 8.0 sen each to RM5.29 and RM3.92, respectively, pulling the key index lower by a combined 2.12 points.

The FBM KLCI opened 0.26 of-a-point lower at 1,520.48 and fluctuated between 1,517.14 and 1,522.72 throughout the trading session.

The broader market was slightly negative as decliners outpaced advancers 498 to 447, while 418 counters were unchanged, 929 untraded, and 18 others suspended.

Turnover declined to 3.02 billion units valued at RM2.24 billion from Wednesday’s 3.43 billion units valued at RM2.32 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the local equities continued to trade range bound due to the absence of fresh catalysts.

"The FBM KLCI ended lower, losing 0.12 per cent or 1.89 points to 1,518.85. Meanwhile, key regional indices closed broadly higher. China/Hong Kong stocks finished higher on bets that Beijing will relax policies to prevent a sector-wide collapse.

"Japanese stocks rose as investors sought out bargains hoping that the new government's fresh round of stimulus could shore up the economy,” he told Bernama today.

Back home, Thong said the FBM KLCI had broken the 1,520 support level and may test the 1,500 psychological level.

"We believe the benchmark index will see some downside though bargain-hunting may emerge as well. As such, we expect the benchmark index to trade within a tight consolidation range of between 1,515 and 1,525 towards the weekend,” he added.

Among heavyweights, Maybank and IHH Healthcare added 1.0 sen each to RM8 and RM6.46, respectively, TNB rose 5.0 sen to RM9.63, while Public Bank and Petronas Chemicals were flat at RM4.02 and RM8.30.

Of the actives, DNeX went up 2.5 sen to 83 sen, Scope Industries gained 1.5 sen to 46.0 sen, while XOX and Permaju Industries earned half-a-sen each to 4.0 sen and 7.0 sen, respectively. - Bernama