KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia was lower in early trade today, mirroring the volatile session on Wall Street overnight amid a weaker sentiment, a dealer said.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined by 9.94 points to 1,416.14 from yesterday's close of 1,426.08. It opened 4.65 points lower at 1,421.43.
On the broader market, losers surpassed gainers 211 to 73, while 180 counters were unchanged, 1,786 untraded and eight others suspended.
Turnover stood at 217.79 million units worth RM75.10 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said US equities ended broadly lower, as global investors’ sentiment remained jittery on slower economic growth amid inflationary pressures.
On the home front, he said market undertone continued to be lacklustre in line with the mixed regional market performance, and the FBM KLCI was expected to oscillate in the 1,415-1,430 range today.
“Meanwhile, concerns over demand due to new lockdowns in Shanghai and inflation dampened crude oil prices with Brent crude slumping to below the US$100 level,” he said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell two sen to RM8.62, Petronas Chemicals was down 10 sen to RM8.18, IHH Healthcare stayed flat at RM6.39, and Public Bank and CIMB inched down three sen to RM4.37 and RM5.09, respectively.
Of the actives, Infoline Tec gained 1.5 sen to 33.5 sen, Metronic decreased 1.5 sen to 6.5 sen, Reach Energy lost one sen to three sen, and Hibiscus Petroleum reduced six sen to 79.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index went down 62.12 points to 10,053.96, the FBM Emas Shariah Index trimmed 74.23 points to 10,082.68, the FBM 70 was 50.39 points lower at 12,054.25, and the FBMT 100 Index contracted 62.35 points to 9,814.81, while the FBM ACE edged up 0.51 of-a-point to 4,579.02.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 57.85 points to 16,030.37, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.61 points lower at 168.60, and the Plantation Index weakened 30.71 points to 6,689.22.
Meanwhile, the ringgit rebounded from yesterday’s losses to open marginally higher against the US dollar today, as slightly cheaper prices prompted some investors to return to the emerging currencies, dealers said.
At 9.10 am, the local currency appreciated versus the greenback to 4.4355/4400 from yesterday’s close of 4.4385/4405.
A dealer said that the greenback gained its momentum yesterday after the closely watched US nonfarm payrolls increased more than expected in June to 372,000 against consensus projection of 268,000.
He said the positive data would certainly lend further support for another 75-basis point (bps) hike in the Fed Funds Rate.
On the home front, analysts expect Bank Negara Malaysia to raise the Overnight Policy Rate one more time during its September meeting, by another 25 bps to 2.50%.
The ringgit was traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.
It weakened against the British pound to 5.2729/2783 from 5.2539/2562 yesterday and decreased versus the euro to 4.4528/4573 from 4.4456/4476 previously.
The local unit, however, was higher against the Singapore dollar at 3.1525/1561 from 3.1539/1556 yesterday and strengthened vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.2352/2390 from 3.2414/2431.
The market was closed on Monday, a replacement public holiday for Aidiladha, which fell on Sunday. – Bernama, July 13, 2022
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