KUALA LUMPUR: Despite the improvement in the broader local market and the upbeat regional bourses, Bursa Malaysia ended on a softer note amid continuous profit taking after the recent rally.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng views profit taking positively, as this is a signal that the local market is able to smoothly digest the effects of the recent uptrend.
Therefore, Thong is confident that the local market undertone remains solid given the continuous inflow of foreign funds domestically.
“We anticipate the benchmark index to stay in consolidation mode for the time being and trend within the range of 1,540-1,550 towards the weekend, with immediate resistance at 1,570 and support at 1,530,” he told Bernama.
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors’ designated portfolio manager and head of wealth research and advisory, Sedek Jantan said caution following the US Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) meeting minutes, which indicated a commitment to maintaining a hawkish stance, was another reason that contributed to the profit taking.
“Nevertheless, the sustained net buying by foreign investors for three consecutive days since Monday suggests that the Malaysian market retains its allure.
“Furthermore, the positive earnings report from Nvidia propelled the Bursa technology index to rise by 3.33% to 65.78 points,” Sedek said.
Nvidia’s strong fourth-quarter earnings on strong demand for its chips to power artificial intelligence (AI), helped to drive most regional stocks higher.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 surpassed its all-time high recorded in 1989 to above 39,000 level, while Chinese stocks rose for a fourth consecutive session led by, among others, AI stocks.
At 5pm, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 6.91 points to 1,545.49 from yesterday’s close of 1,552.40.
The benchmark index opened 1.69 points lower at 1,550.71 and hit an intraday low of 1,542.72 in late session and a high of 1,551.97 in early morning trading.
The market breadth turned positive with gainers surpassing losers 571 to 462, while 494 counters were unchanged, 790 untraded and 20 others suspended.
Turnover was higher at 3.72 billion units worth RM2.58 billion from yesterday’s 3.65 billion units worth RM2.71 billion.
On the local bourse, heavyweights YTL Power shed 12 sen to RM3.78, Tenaga Nasional slid 16 sen to RM11.22 and YTL was 7 sen lower at RM2.15.
Public Bank eased 3 sen to RM4.48 and PPB Group shrank 30 sen to RM15.20.
On the other hand, Petronas Chemicals improved 5 sen to RM7.10 and KLK jumped 26 sen to RM22.86.
As for the actives, Hong Seng and Minetech were unchanged at 2 sen and 17.5 sen respectively.
Reneuco lost 0.5 sen to 9 sen, Notion jumped 14 sen to 45.5 sen, and Dialog perked 10 sen to RM2.30.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slid 9.85 points to 11,511.98 and the FBMT 100 Index shed 13.57 points to 11,162.22.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 19.8 points to 11,602.61, the FBM 70 Index soared 129.32 points to 15,644.99 and the FBM ACE Index garnered 69.07 points to 4,906.56.
Sector-wise, the financial services index fell 52.71 points to 17,323.45 and the energy index was 0.54 of-a-point lower at 934.23.
The plantation index increased by 4.26 points to 7,333.12, the industrial products and services index added 0.87 points to 178.53, and the property index rose by 2.14 points to 927.01.
The Main Market volume widened to 2.3 billion units valued at RM2.26 billion from yesterday’s 2.14 billion units valued at RM2.47 billion.
Warrants turnover tumbled to 871.36 million units worth RM125.91 million from 1.09 billion units worth RM139.4 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume, however, expanded to 531.81 million shares worth RM186.3 million from 421.72 million shares worth RM98.73 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 384.33 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (484.06 million); construction (100.59 million); technology (534.25 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (64.11 million); property (300.62 million); plantation (42.93 million); REITs (12.42 million), closed/fund (57,400); energy (168.99 million); healthcare (57.05 million); telecommunications and media (30.57 million); transportation and logistics (36.91 million); and utilities (84.82 million).
