KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia retreated from yesterday’s gains to open lower today on mild profit- taking after the local bourse finished 1.08 per cent higher overnight.
At 9.05 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 1.51 points to 1,689.21 from Thursday’s close of 1,690.72.
The index opened 2.81 points weaker at 1,687.91.
Market breadth, however, was positive, as gainers thumped losers 112 to 60, while 130 counters were unchanged, 1,585 untraded and 54 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 93.56 million shares worth RM22.0 million.
According to a note by Public Investment Bank Bhd today, the FBM KLCI is expected to stage for window dressing activity and drift higher for another day.
“The FBM KLCI is anticipated to drift higher for another day factoring in revival in upward momentum, having a channel of between 1,700 and 1,720 marks, projected as upper bound in the near term,“ it said.
It added that support levels for the index were at the 1,645, 1,664 and 1,680-points, while the resistance lis at 1,700, 1,720 and 1,735-points.
Among heavyweights, Public Bank eased four sen to RM24.84, CIMB trimmed one sen to RM5.77, while Tenaga advanced two sen to RM13.60.
Maybank and Petronas Chemicals were unchanged at RM9.40 and RM9.36 respectively.
Of actives, Hubline and PDZ inched up half-a-sen to 4.5 sen and three sen respectively, Permaju perked one sen to 35.5 sen, while Velesto slipped half-a-sen to 17 sen and TH Heavy was flat at three sen.
PPB emerged as the top loser, falling 18 sen to RM17.02, followed by KLK which shed 16 sen to RM23.98, Malaysia Airports retreated 14 sen to RM8.30, Scientex slid 10 sen to RM9.03 and Sime Darby Plantation was eight sen lower at RM4.70.
The FBM Emas Index contracted 3.68 points to 11,519.95, the FBMT 100 Index eased 4.58 points to 11,438.18, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 4.16 points to 11,481.13 and the FBM Ace Index was 0.74 of-a-point lower at 4,236.92.
The FBM 70 increased 18.59 points to 13,085.10.
Sector-wise, the Finance Index gave up 13.01 points to 17,334.04, the Plantation Index went down 33.51 points to 6,795.52, but the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.04 of-a-point to 166.47.
Gold futures contracts on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives were untraded in the early session today due to weak interest for the precious metal ahead of the New Year holiday.
At 9.13 am, December 2018, January 2019, February 2019 and March 2019 were pegged at RM170.30, RM170.30, RM170.40 and RM170.50 per gramme respectively.
Volume was nil, while open interest amounted to 26 contracts.
At 9.30 am, the price of physical gold was nine sen higher at RM165.02 per gramme. — Bernama
