KUALA LUMPUR – The local equity market continued its downtrend today with the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) tumbling by 1.32% to close at the intraday low.
Of the index's constituent stocks, 26 were in the red following increased uncertainty on the economic recovery both locally and abroad.
At the closing bell, the FBM KLCI shed 19.91 points to 1,489.56 from yesterday’s close of 1,509.47.
The index opened at 1,509.24 before moving between 1,489.56 and 1,510.35 throughout the day.
On the broader market, gainers stood at 637 – mainly ACE market counters – and losers numbered 373 while 416 counters were unchanged, 698 untraded and 20 others suspended.
Total volume decreased to 5.25 billion shares worth RM3.60 billion compared with yesterday’s 6.02 billion shares worth RM3.80 billion.
An analyst said that while the global markets continued to be on a volatile mode following rising concerns over Covid-19 cases and the decision by US President Donald Trump to call off stimulus assistance talks, the local market lacked attraction for want of a catalyst.
“Malaysia is in a tough position now as it faces the resurgence of Covid-19 infections as the country continues to record high numbers of cases over the past days.
“Even though the prime minister has dispelled worries of another movement control order, the economic position still faces pressure,” she said.
On the technical forefront, she said the FBM KLCI has formed a bearish candle after rejecting the daily EMA20 level after the key index erased all its intraday gains yesterday.
Under the prevailing situation, the 1,500 level will come into play again with the immediate support at 1,480, followed by 1,450. Upside-wise, the immediate resistance is at 1,520, followed by 1,540.
The technical indicators remain mixed as the Moving Average Convergence/Divergence histogram has extended another green bar while the relative strength index (RSI) stays below 50, which indicates a downtrend.
The heavyweight counters experienced a selldown today, led by Petronas Chemicals and Tenaga Nasional that shed 30 sen each to RM5.70 and RM10.24, respectively, while Public Bank was 26 sen lower at RM15.58, Petronas Gas fell 28 sen to RM16.10 and IOI Corporation declined 12 sen to RM4.27.
Despite the lower performance of the benchmark composite index, the ACE market gained traction from retail investors, rising 2.53% to 10,502.00.
As for the top losers, Nestle dropped RM1.80 to RM138.50, F&N dipped 58 sen to RM32.00 and Hong Leong Financial fell 36 sen to RM13.86.
As for the top gainers, Prolexus added 37 sen to RM1.62, Supermax jumped 35 sen to RM9.58 and Kumpulan Powernet was 23 sen higher at RM3.30.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index lost 89.68 points to 10,788.31 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 88.38 points lower at 12,902.12.
The FBM 70 gained 32.93 points to 14,272.80 but the FBMT 100 Index slipped 98.96 points to 10,607.54.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 146.73 points to 12,303.14, the Plantation Index reduced 76.03 points to 6,887.55, and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.66 points weaker at 137.89.
Warrants turnover declined to 618.34 million units worth RM150.09 million from yesterday’s 696.22 million units worth RM182.44 million.
Volume on the ACE Market dived to 1.31 billion shares worth RM498.90 million from 2.48 billion shares worth RM929.56 million on Tuesday.
Consumer products and services accounted for 1.20 billion shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (665.42 million), construction (408.58 million), technology (222.29 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (32.65 million), property (105.27 million), plantations (67.99 million), REITs (7.03 million), closed/fund (7,300), energy (125.49 million), healthcare (101.36 million), telecommunications and media (294.49 million), transportation and logistics (69.06 million), and utilities (16.57 million). – Bernama, October 7, 2020
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