KUALA LUMPUR: Profit-taking in selected heavyweights dragged the FBM KLCI lower on Thursday as investors digested a slew of corporate earnings, while the broader market remained mixed.
The 30-stock index fell 6.82 points, or 0.39%, to 1,741.72 after trading between an intraday high of 1,752.81 and a low of 1,739.76.
Winners and losers were closely balanced, with 612 gainers against 596 decliners, while 568 counters were unchanged. About 3.86 billion shares worth RM3.47bil changed hands.
Dealers said investors took profits in selected heavyweights following yesterday’s gains, while sentiment remained cautious amid the ongoing corporate earnings season and mixed regional performance.
Among the decliners, Nestle slid RM1 to RM103, F&N fell 40 sen to RM25.90, United Plantations lost 24 sen to RM31.28 and Dutch Lady
declined 22 sen to RM31.46.
Technology and semiconductor stocks were among the top gainers on Bursa Malaysia. ViTrox rose 38 sen to RM9.50, Mi Technovation gained 24 sen to RM6.49, Unisem added 24 sen to RM4.51 and Malaysian Pacific Industries climbed 14 sen to RM42.82.
Other gainers included Hong Leong Bank, which jumped 88 sen to RM23.88, Hong Leong Financial Group, up 40 sen to RM19.14, and Petronas Gas, which rose 24 sen to RM17.82.
Foreign investors and local institutions acquired a net RM94mil and RM108mil worth of Malaysian equities, respectively, on Wednesday, while retailers were net sellers, offloading RM203mil worth of equities.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell over US$1 earlier on expectations that talks between Iran and Qatar might open the Strait of Hormuz and reduce supply disruptions from the Middle East war.
Brent crude fell 57 cents to US$87.27 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude declined 65 cents to US$81.58 per barrel.
Elsewhere in the region, Asian shares closed mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 0.34%, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.53% and China’s CSI300 gained 0.86%.
