KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened higher but eased slightly thereafter as investors stayed on the sidelines due to the lack of market catalysts.
At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI inched down 0.02 points to 1,597.29 from yesterday’s close of 1,597.31.
The index opened 4.71 points higher at 1,602.02.
On the broader market, there were 219 gainers and 130 losers, while 266 counters were unchanged, 1,673 untraded and 67 others suspended.
Total turnover stood at 185.11 million worth RM95.65 million.
In a note, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said Wall Street rebounded strongly overnight, buoyed by a slew of good corporate earnings, with the Dow Jones Index Average up by 614 points and the Nasdaq closing 383 points higher.
“For today, we can expect some selling to emerge as the local bourse will be closed for three days next week for Hari Raya, thus we reckon the index to hover within the 1,590-1,600 range,” the brokerage said.
Among the Bursa heavyweights, Maybank fell 1 sen to RM9.03, IHH Healthcare lost 5 sen to RM6.60, Public Bank added 1 sen to RM4.72 and Petronas Chemicals gained 12 sen to RM10.22, while CIMB was flat at RM5.19.
Of the actives, Euro Holdings went up 5.5 sen to 23 sen, Vortex increased 1 sen to 19 sen, PUC bagged 1.5 sen to 12.5 sen, YTL rose 2.5 sen to 62 sen, while Anzo lost 1 sen to 0.5 sen.
On the index board, FBM ACE increased 30.57 points to 5,616.34, FBM 70 improved 37.52 points to 13,748.79, FBM Emas Index expanded 7.72 points to 11,443.21, FBMT 100 Index strengthened 6.97 points to 11,099.35, and FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 2.73 points to 11,993.27.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index expanded 11.89 points to 16,923.36 and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.71 of-a-point better at 210.13, while the Plantation Index decreased 16.29 points to 8,768.62.
Meanwhile, the ringgit rebounded to open slightly higher against the US dollar today after two consecutive days of losses as the cheaper ringgit attracted investors, said an analyst.
At 9.16am, the local note stood at 4.3550/3595 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.3630/3650.
According to the analyst, investors seemed to have reacted positively to Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) assurance that the country’s economy remains strong, despite the ringgit’s downtrend.
In a news report yesterday, BNM governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus dismissed concerns that the depreciation of the ringgit was a “tell-tale” sign that Malaysia will have trouble settling its external debts, as is the case with some countries, stressing that “Malaysia is nowhere near that position”.
However, another dealer said the ringgit’s gains were limited as investors remain concerned over the Bank of Japan’s decision on its monetary policy.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local note strengthened versus the Japanese yen to 3.3369/3406 from yesterday’s close of 3.3412/3430, and rose against the euro to 4.5828/5875 from 4.5894/5915 previously.
It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.1474/1508 from yesterday’s close of 3.1488/1507 and increased vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.4381/4437 from 5.4590/4615 previously. – Bernama, April 29, 2022
