KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened marginally higher but retreated thereafter, dampened by selling in index-linked counters amid mixed market sentiment, despite firmer performance on Wall Street overnight, said a dealer.
At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 2.12 points to 1,547.78 from Thursday’s close of 1,549.90.
The benchmark index opened 1.34 points firmer at 1,551.24.
On the broader market, however, gainers led losers 239 to 137, while 237 counters were unchanged, 1,633 untraded and 12 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 313.43 million units worth RM105.21 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said Wall Street rebounded as the Dow Jones Index rose 1.3%, recovering all its previous session losses in anticipation of softer labour data, and that may provide some cushion to the concern over inflationary pressure.
Nevertheless, the firm expects to see bargain-hunting activities across the sectors, given the strong rebound on Wall Street overnight.
“We believe crude oil price to remain elevated in the near term on the back of reduced Russian output and larger-than-expected drawdown in the US inventories, thus inflationary pressure may not abate anytime soon,” it said in a note.
The firm added that both crude palm oil and Brent crude oil prices were on the rise, with the former trading around RM6,500 per tonne, while the latter trading above US$117 per barrel.
Among the heavyweights, both Maybank and Petronas Chemicals lost 3.0 sen to RM8.91 and RM9.96, respectively, IHH Healthcare and CIMB fell 4.0 sen each to RM6.50 and RM5.14, respectively, while Public Bank added 1.0 sen to RM4.62.
Of the actives, Serba Dinamik rose 2.5 sen to 13 sen, its warrants gained 1.0 sen to 5.0 sen, both MQ Technology and Dagang Nexchange increased half-a-sen to 5.5 sen and RM1.0, respectively, while Sapura Energy slid half-a-sen to 5.5 sen.
Meanwhile, shares trading for Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd and Cocoaland Holdings Bhd have been suspended with effect from 9am today, pending an announcement from both companies.
On the index board, the FBM ACE perked up 27.34 points to 5,263.74, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 2.85 points to 11,399.45, and the FBM 70 appreciated 37.12 points to 13,304.17, while the FBM Emas Index was 1.86 points weaker at 11,056.04 and the FBMT 100 Index slipped 4.26 points to 10,751.95.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.22 of-a point weaker at 200.13, the Financial Services Index declined 19.59 points to 16,726.30, while the Plantation Index increased 19.02 points to 7,921.07.
Meanwhile, the ringgit regained some strength to open higher against the US dollar as the greenback’s demand weakened amid expectations of an aggressive monetary policy stance by the US Federal Reserve in the third week this month.
At 9.02am, the local currency increased to 4.3805/3840 versus the US dollar from Wednesday’s close of 4.3880/3910.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said investors are also focusing on the release of the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data today, hence, giving the ringgit a favourable trading backdrop.
“Besides, risk sentiment is seen to be steadier, supported also by firmer oil prices. However, the ringgit may move range-bound ahead of the NFP release,” Innes told Bernama.
At the time of writing, the benchmark Brent crude oil price was up 0.07% to US$117.70 per barrel.
On the local front, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz yesterday said the expansion of the Malaysian economy by 3.6% in the fourth quarter of 2021 and 5.0% in the first quarter of 2022 will continue to help strengthen the ringgit.
He said this was also reflected in the latest analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that projected Malaysia’s gross domestic product growth of 5.75% for 2022, driven by pent-up domestic demand and continued strong external demand.
The finance minister is confident of the country’s strong economic growth projection of between 5.3 and 6.3% in 2022, thus contributing to the stability of the ringgit.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local note depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.1960/1991 from yesterday’s close of 3.1901/1928 but increased vis-à-vis the Japanese yen to 3.3745/3775 from 3.3803/3829.
The ringgit traded lower versus the British pound at 5.5085/5129 compared with 5.5034/5072 on Wednesday and dropped versus the euro to 4.7125/7163 from 4.6895/6927 previously. – Bernama, June 3, 2022
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