KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia stayed in negative territory in early trade on Monday, as geopolitical concerns kept investors cautious despite gains in selected renewable energy stocks.
The FBM KLCI fell 2.02 points, or 0.12% to 1,663.54 at 9.17 am. It opened down 1.36 points at 1,664.20 earlier.
Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries
slid 80 sen to RM42, Nestle fell 78 sen to RM88.80, Sunway Construction eased 52 sen to RM7.36 and TIME dotCom gave up 48 sen to RM5.93.
Renewable energy counters were among the gainers, with Solarvest rising 28 sen to RM3.61, Samaiden gaining 26 sen to RM2.21 and Pekat adding 10 sen to RM2.21.
Elsewhere, F&N rose 34 sen to RM23, Hong Leong Bank advanced 24 sen to RM22.78 and PETRONAS Dagangan climbed 10 sen to RM20.18.
Berjaya Research Sdn Bhd expects bargain-hunting interest to gradually emerge as the FBM KLCI approaches oversold territory following its recent weakness.
It said this could provide near-term support to the index, particularly among fundamentally sound stocks that have come under selling pressure.
“Nonetheless, any potential recovery could be choppy as investors may remain selective amid prevailing uncertainties over the geopolitical tension in the Middle East, with the index likely to remain volatile in the near term,” it said.
Technically, Berjaya Research said the key index formed another bearish candlestick, extending its pullback.
“The immediate resistances remain located at 1,687 points, followed by 1,700 points. Meanwhile the supports are now shifted to 1,655 points and 1,650 points respectively,” it added.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade expects the index to remain in correction mode, trading within the 1,660–1,680 range today.
It said Brent crude oil prices eased to US$103 per barrel, following Saudi Arabia’s success in mitigating supply outages.
