KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia snapped its gains yesterday to open lower in early trade as investors remained cautious amid mixed trading activities on Wall Street and US-China geopolitical risks.
The benchmark index fell 8.26 points, or 0.56% to 1,499.28 at 9.15am. It opened 2.64 points lower at 1,505.07.
TA Securities said stocks should fall back into profit-taking consolidation mode ahead of the weekend given the weak follow-through investor participation, and as elevated US-China geopolitical tensions continue to dampen risk sentiment.
“Immediate index resistance is at 1,520, with 1,540, 1,560 and 1,580 as subsequent stronger resistance levels capping upside.
“Immediate support remains at 1,480, with 1,450, 1,430 and the recent pivot low of 1,408 acting as stronger chart supports,” the research house said.
Among the losers, Batu Kawan fell 40 sen to RM23, Malaysian Pacific Industries
eased 22 sen to RM32.26, PPB lost 18 sen to RM16.36 and Press Metal declined 13 sen to RM4.82.
F&N added 18 sen to RM22.60, LPI rose 12 sen to RM13.36, Bonia gained nine sen to RM2.31 and Teladan climbed seven sen to RM1.15.
Overnight, the US market was mixed with the Dow and S&P falling while the Nasdaq climbed as investors waited for the June jobs data later today.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.26% to 32,726.82, the S&P 500 lost 0.08% to 4,151.94 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.41% to 12,720.58.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said US equities slipped on Thursday as mixed earnings outlooks and more hawkish Fed official commentary offered little encouragement to investors ahead of today's US Non-Farm Payroll.
“A return in US-China tensions also weighed on sentiment following headlines that 22 Chinese Air Force planes entered Taiwan's air defence zone and crossed the Taiwan Strait median line.
He noted that oil prices continued their slide and should promote the peak inflation narrative, which seems sufficient enough to keep the markets supported for now.
“Still, market exhaustion and nonfarm payroll anticipation were common themes among markets during the reasonably quiet New York session on Thursday,” Innes said.
