Bursa mixed, as FBM KLCI finishes higher

KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia ended the day mixed, with the key index on positive territory lifted by selected heavyweights. 

At 5pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI gained 2.73 points or 0.17% to 1,569.87 from 1,567.14 at Monday’s closing. The key index opened 4.89 points higher at 1,572.03 and moved between 1,568.67 and 1,583.43 throughout the day.

Market breadth was also negative with losers outpacing gainers 677 to 485, while 466 counters were unchanged, 525 untraded and 14 others suspended. Total volume rose to 12.89 billion units worth RM6.42 billion from Monday’s 10.69 billion units worth RM6.10 billion.  

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee said selling emerged in late trading due to profit-taking activities.

“The market started off very well today and later we saw sellers emerge again, taking profit from today’s high. At the same time, we saw continued selling in rubber glove companies,” he told Bernama. 

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will hold its second Monetary Policy Meeting this year on Thursday, during which market observers said the central bank would likely maintain the current Overnight Policy Rate at 1.75%. 

Glove makers Top Glove trimmed 15 sen to RM4.75, Supermax declined 25 sen to RM4.11 but Hartalega rose three sen to RM9.41. 

Other heavyweights Maybank, Public Bank and Petronas Chemicals added two sen each to RM8.08, RM4.22, and RM7.53 respectively, while TNB rose four sen to RM10.36, IHH Healthcare jumped 21 sen to RM5.50, CIMB was 6 sen higher to RM4.28 and Press Metal fell 5 sen to RM9.70.   

Of the actives, Aimflex improved 6 sen to 31.5 sen, Straits Inter Logistics went up 1 sen to 21 sen, Grand-Flo advanced 23.5 sen to 68 sen, GFM Services eased 12.5 sen to 28 sen, AirAsia X edged down half-a-sen to nine sen and AT Systematization decreased one sen to 11.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index expanded 14.31 points to 11,576.52, the FBMT 100 Index improved 26.43 points to 11,274.72, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 1.75 point to 12,890.55.  The FBM 70 strengthened 62.51 points to 15,535.84 and the FBM ACE lost 134.01 points to 10,571.36.  

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.08 of-a-point to 184.04, the Plantation Index decreased 12.91 points to 7,139.28, and the Financial Services Index rose 73.18 points to 15,032.83. The Main Market volume went up to 7.38 billion shares worth RM5.03 billion from yesterday’s 6.74 billion shares worth RM5.0 billion.  

Warrants turnover was higher at 480.88 million units worth RM85.15 million from 473.98 million units valued at RM79.35 million yesterday.  

Volume on the ACE Market increased to 5.03 billion shares worth RM1.31 billion from 3.47 billion shares worth RM1.0 billion yesterday.  – Bernama, March 2, 2021