The Star
PETALING JAYA: Bursa Malaysia ended trading lower yesterday in tandem with the heavy selldown in regional bourses.
This was as investors were wary following the sudden burst of turmoil in the global banking sector, said an analyst.
At 5PM, the benchmark FBM KLCI slipped 9.92 points, or 0.70%, to 1,401.81 points.
This was from Friday’s close of 1,411.73 points.
The market bellwether opened 3.55 points easier at 1,408.18 and moved between 1,400.49 and 1,408.52 throughout the day.
Market breadth was negative with decliners trouncing gainers 653 to 275.
A total of 338 counters remained unchanged, while 996 were untraded and 16 others suspended.
Turnover dipped to 3.47 billion units worth RM1.93bil against 4.43 billion units worth RM4.09bil recorded last Friday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said concerns over a possible global banking crisis remained tenacious despite the implementation of emergency liquidity measures and bank consolidations in the United States and Europe.
“Investors are now cautiously awaiting more cues on monetary policy from the Federal Reserve meeting this week.
“On the domestic front, sentiment may also be cautious in view of external factors.
“Nevertheless, we believe the FBM KLCI has been extremely oversold,” he told Bernama.
Thong said bargain hunting may set in and expects the benchmark index to trend slightly higher within the 1,400 to 1,410-point range for the week.
“On a technical point of view, the immediate support is spotted at 1,400.
“This is followed by 1,370, while resistance is at 1,420 points,” he added.
Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 1.48% to 3,136.17 while Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.42% 26,945.67.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.65% to 19,000.71 points, while China’s SSE Composite Index slipped 0.48% to 3,234,91.
Back home, Bursa Malaysia heavyweights, IHH Healthcare Bhd
gained two sen to RM5.84 and CelcomDigi Bhd jumped 10 sen to RM4.15.
Further, Hong Leong Bank Bhd was flat at RM20.10, while Malayan Banking Bhd decreased four sen to RM8.34.
Public Bank Bhd fell two sen to RM3.95 and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd lost 23 sen to settle at RM7.
Among the actives, Green Packet Bhd perked up half-a-sen to 5.5 sen.
Niche Capital Emas Holdings Bhd climbed four sen to 17.5 sen.
Zen Tech International Bhd was flat at three sen.
Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd, meanwhile, slid half-a-sen to 14 sen and Top Glove Corp Bhd eased one sen to 90.5 sen.
