KL shares lower in early trade
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices were in the red on Bursa Malaysia in early trade this morning, on weaker demand, and amid the cautious sentiment clouding the market.
At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 3.82 points lower at 1,728.32 versus Friday's close of 1,732.14.
The index opened 1.88 points lower at 1,730.26.
A dealer said buying demand was hampered by external concerns such as China's growth, trade disputes and rising US interest rates.
He said the decline on the local stock market was also in line with the performance of Asian shares, whereby the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.25%, while Japan's Nikkei eased one per cent and South Korean stocks lost 0.7%.
On the technical front, Kenanga Research said while the outlook for the FBM KLCI remained bearish on the shorter-term, it did not discount the possibility of a continuation relief rebound rally given improving signals from key momentum indicators.
"Key levels of resistance to look at are 1,760 and 1,790. Conversely, lower support levels can be identified at 1,700 and 1,660," it said in a note.
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose one sen to RM9.61, Tenaga added four sen to RM14.60, while Public Bank and Petronas Chemicals declined four sen each to RM24.96 and RM9.35.
For actives, MYEG gained 20 sen to RM1.33, Datasonic fell 2.5 sen to 46 sen, while Sapura Energy and Iris added half-a-sen each to 34 sen and 18 sen respectively.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 19.4 points to 11,926.72, the FBM Ace Index increased 5.05 points to 5,105.01 and the FBM 70 was up 31.68 points at 13,805.84.
The FBM Emas Index declined 13.52 points to 11,956.99 and the FBMT 100 Index lost 13.79 points to 11,786.2.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index lost 27.2 points to 7,399.77, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.45 of-a-point weaker at 172.66 and the Financial Services Index fell 21.71 points to 17,543.75.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 119 to 100 with 143 unchanged, 1,549 counters untraded and 41 suspended.
Volume stood at 143.16 million units valued at RM94.42 million.
The physical price of gold as at 9.30am stood at RM158.65 per gramme, down three sen from RM158.68 at 5pm last Friday. — Bernama