KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 ― Bursa Malaysia opened higher but retreated shortly after, prompted by profit-taking in almost all indices across the board.

At 9.07am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 7.58 points to 1,513.24 from yesterday’s close of 1,520.82.

The index opened 3.08 points higher at 1,523.90.

Market breadth was negative with losers leading gainers 218 to 148, while 265 counters were unchanged, 1,608 untraded and 18 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 283.15 million units worth RM186.92 million.

An analyst said amid concerns of the rising Covid-19 cases in the country, investors seemed to look out for more catalysts on economic recoveries.

 Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, in a research note, said commodities-wise, crude palm oil (CPO) price had surged in tandem with soya bean futures, while crude oil extended its losses.

"The plantation sector may see some rebound as traders may take cue from the firmer CPO price.

"Besides, there might be some follow-through buying interest in the glove sector as the local Covid-19 daily cases continued registering above the 10,000 mark,” said the brokerage firm.

On technical outlook, it said investors may monitor the key index resistance level at 1,525-1,548 while the support level remained at 1,500.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank declined two sen to RM8.03, Public Bank slipped one sen to RM4.04, Petronas Chemicals went down 14 sen to RM7.90, TNB and CIMB eased four sen each at RM9.68 and RM4.50 respectively, and IHH dropped five sen to RM5.65.

Among the actives, LKL was flat at 31.5 sen, Pasukhas shed three sen to 16.5 sen, and Berjaya Land added two sen to 31 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 41.80 points to 11,051.48, the FBMT 100 Index fell 41.97 points to 10,761.86, and the FBM ACE reduced 26.81 points to 7,176.04.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index was 60.41 points lower at 12,109.35 and the FBM 70 fell 9.78 points to 14,423.45.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index shed 36.75 points to 14,856.43 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 1.39 points to 186.64, but the Plantation Index added 3.05 points to 6,155.37. ― Bernama