KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia bucked the regional trend to stage a lower trading activity in early session today, dampened by selling in the index-linked counters led by Top Glove.
At 9.31am, the benchmark index FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 6.48 points to 1,563.68 after opening 4.09 points lower at 1,565.99.
Top Glove dragged down the composite index by 2.449 points after losing 15 sen to RM7.71 as the positive Covid-19 vaccine progress killed risk appetite for rubber glove stocks.
Another rubber glove maker, Hartalega fell 12 sen to RM15.38, Kossan Rubber eased four sen to RM6.60, while Supermax contracted 10 sen to RM8.80.
On the broader market, there were 348 gainers and 338 losers, while 384 counters were unchanged, 1,092 untraded and 27 others suspended.
Total volume stood at 2.7 billion worth RM694.53 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said a consolidation is expected to take place over the near-term as investors continued to lock in recent gains, which it deemed to be a healthy move at the current juncture.
“We also think that the lower liners will undergo a consolidation with any weaknesses to be supported by the improved trading liquidity as investors continued their quest to hunt for higher yields.
“Following the extended gains in crude palm oil prices, the plantation sector may also charge higher over the near term, while the technology sector may stage a recovery, mirroring the strong gains in Nasdaq overnight,” it said in a note today.
Among heavyweights, Maybank trimmed six sen to RM7.63, Public Bank shed 10 sen to RM17.58, Tenaga gave up 14 sen for RM11.20, while Petronas Chemicals was unchanged at RM6.55.
Of the actives, AT Systematization and EA Holdings inched down half-a-sen each to 26.5 sen and three sen, respectively, Metronic added three sen to 11.5 sen, while DGB was flat at 4.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 34 points lower at 11,256.89, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 31.68 points to 13,194.89, and the FBMT 100 Index lost 37.56 points to 11,050.95.
The FBM 70 decreased 17.15 points to 14,544.13 and the FBM ACE edged down 6.46 points to 11,285.33.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index depreciated 47.56 points to 13,361.78, but the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.47 of-a-point to 153.05, and the Plantation Index increased 7.56 points to 7,185.34. – Bernama, November 12, 2020
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