Investors turn cautious

Bearish investor sentiment was reflected in 466 counters closing lower to 358 gaining with 2.38 billion securities valued at RM2bil traded.

PETALING JAYA: Lower corporate earnings for the first quarter (1Q23) and expectations of fund flows going into US dollar assets weighed on local sentiment and added to the pain of a weaker ringgit.

Expectations of weaker domestic economic growth in the months ahead as signalled by falling trade figures in April and news of Germany going into recession saw investors sell heavyweights on Bursa Malaysia leading the benchmark index to close eight points down at 1,396.9 points, which is just six points off year-to-date (y-t-d) lows, or down 6.6% y-t-d.