KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia, which was on a winning streak for the whole of last week, ended lower today amid a mixed regional performance due to profit-taking in heavyweight stocks led by glove counters.
The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI fell 21.84 points to 1,662.74 from Friday’s close of 1,684.58.
It opened 2.12 points easier at 1,682.46, and moved between 1,662.45 and 1,695.96 throughout the day.
On the broader market, losers thumped gainers 964 to 461, while 368 counters were unchanged, 351 untraded and 22 suspended.
Total volume increased to 11.88 billion shares worth RM7.20 billion from 10.03 billion shares valued at RM6.19 billion on Friday.
Regionally, China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange improved 0.66% to 3,369.12, Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 1.48% to 2,863.45 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.30% to 26,732.44, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index eased 0.44% to 26,389.52.
A dealer said the regional market is mixed amid progress on Covid-19 vaccines, as the US began shipping out doses over the weekend.
The market sentiment was also supported by news that Britain and the European Union have agreed to continue Brexit trade talks beyond the deadline yesterday, he said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank shed 1 sen to RM8.90, Public Bank and Top Glove fell 60 sen each to RM21.30 and RM6.30, respectively, and Petronas Chemicals eased 4 sen to RM7.85, while Tenaga gained 26 sen to RM10.60.
Of the actives, Sino Hua-An rose 3 sen to 16 sen, AirAsia X gained 1.5 sen to 10.5 sen and P.A. Resources edged up half a sen to 18.5 sen.
Iris lost 2 sen to 37 sen, while Focus Dynamics warrant was flat at 3.5 sen. – Bernama, December 14, 2020
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