Bursa Malaysia ends lower in range bound trade
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended lower in range bound trading, weighed down by selling activity in selected heavyweight stocks led by Hong Leong Bank and MISC , dealers said.
Hong Leong Bank fell 42 sen to RM18.22 and MISC shed 12 sen to RM7, which together accounted for 2.576 points of the index.
At the close, the key FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 3.10 points lower at 1,855.07, after moving between 1,854.03 and 1,860.01 during the day.
It opened 3.92 points lower at 1,854.25 against Wednesday's close of 1,858.17.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 454 to 442 with 443 counters unchanged, 563 untraded and 39 others were suspended.
Volume increased to 2.34 billion units, worth RM2.06 billion, compared with Wednesday's 2.28 billion shares valued at RM2.53 billion.
A dealer said the local bourse tracked Asian markets which took the cue from a lower finish in US stocks following the release of the latest Federal Reserve (Fed) minutes.
The Fed indicated it was optimistic about stronger-than-expected US economic growth this year, and there may be more interest rate hikes ahead.
"The more hawkish stance from the Fed had rekindled fears about inflation and rising bond yields and had boosted the US dollar," he added.
On the local front, last-minute buying of heavyweight stocks helped lift the market, he added.
Heavyweights, Maybank added two sen to RM10.20, Public Bank rose 14 sen to RM22.28, Tenaga fell six sen to RM15.64, Petronas Chemicals eased three sen to RM8.11 while CIMB was flat at RM7.13.
Among actives, AirAsia X added one sen to 41.5 sen, Toyoinh warrant gained 9.5 sen to ten sen, PDZ and its warrant edged up half-a-sen to 8.5 sen and five sen, respectively while DGB Asia was flat at 16.5 sen.
The FBM Emas Index trimmed 5.52 points to 13,276.76, the FBMT 100 Index fell 8.32 points to 12,972.04, the FBM Ace reduced 5.93 points to 6,383.21 and the FBM Emas Syariah Index slipped 8.40 points to 13,592.36 while the FBM 70 rose 34.54 points to 16,369.67.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Index was 3.31 points lower at 3,256.16, the Finance Index shed 0.09 of a point to 17,868.71 while the Plantation Index rose 33.16 points to 8,091.88.
The Main Market volume increased to 1.54 billion units, worth RM1.90 billion, compared with 1.27 billion units, valued at RM2.34 billion, recorded on Wednesday.
Volume on the ACE Market rose to 337.31 million shares, valued at RM69.28 million, from 333.13 million shares, worth RM64.83 million, transacted yesterday.
Warrants' volume was lower at 464.30 million units, worth RM86.99 million, from Wednesday's 673.62 million units valued at RM119.13 million.
Consumer products accounted for 88.22 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products (376.55 million), construction (49.68 million), trade and services (721.69 million), technology (63.37 million), infrastructure (5.14 million), SPAC (5.72 million), finance (53.47 million), hotels (1.28 million), properties (105.60 million), plantations (52.26 million), mining (100,100), REITs (13.39 million), and closed/fund (11,500).
The physical price of gold as at 5pm stood at RM161.05 per gramme, down 44 sen from RM161.49 at 5pm yesterday. — Bernama