FBM KLCI drifts lower as selling pressure persists

KUALA LUMPUR: Selling pressure continued to drag the FBM KLCI lower in early trade as investors turn cautious ahead of six state elections.

At 9.10am, the market bellwether fell 7.98 points, or 0.55% to 1,450.95. It opened 0.46 of a point lower at 1,458.47.

Dealers noted that the sentiment was also dampened by the less-than-exciting corporate earnings reported so far.

TA Securities said the local market should trade sideways with a downward bias ahead of the weekend, as investors are likely to consolidate their positions and stay sidelined ahead of the keenly awaited outcome of the six state elections over the weekend.

“Immediate resistance for the index stays at last week's high of 1,464, with 1,470, and the 1,490/1,500 level acting as tougher upside hurdles.

“Immediate support cushioning downside will be last week's low of 1,433, with stronger supports seen at 1,420 and 1,400,” TA said.

At Bursa Malaysia, Hextar Technologies slid 48 sen to RM26.52, Nestle eased 40 sen to RM132.10, Hong Leong Bank lost 20 sen to RM19.66 and PPB fell 18 sen to RM16.62.

United Plantations added 10 sen to RM15.80, Apollo Food gained five sen to RM4.65, Genting climbed four sen to RM4.37 and APB Resources advanced four sen to RM2.40.

Overnight, the U.S. market was slightly higher after the July consumer price index came in cooler than expected.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52.79 points, or 0.15%, to finish at 35,176.15. The S&P 500 inched up 0.03% to 4,468.83 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.12% to close at 13,737.99.

“Following yesterday’s pullback, the FBM KLCI could hover below the resistance of 1,465 points amid uncertainties ahead of the state elections tomorrow,” Apex said.