KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 — Bursa Malaysia kicked off 2022 on a weak note, as market sentiment was clouded by the latest development pertinent to Omicron amid profit-taking following its recent gains.

At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) lost 17.77 points to 1,549.76 after the key index closed at 1,567.53 on Friday.

The index opened 13.89 points lower at 1,553.64.

On the broader market, losers slightly outnumbered gainers 146 to 121, while 217 counters were unchanged, 1,790 untraded and 15 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 117.54 million units valued at RM40.03 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, in a research note, said the FBM KLCI ticked higher on the last trading day of 2021 as bargain-hunting activities, mainly in banking and telecommunication heavyweights, picked up in the final trading hour.

Following a volatile year of trading, the local bourse might set the stage for a recovery moving forward with the recovery-themed sectors being the main focus, it said.

"However, sentiment may still be dampened by the surging Omicron variant cases around the world.

"Nevertheless, market players might cheer on the return of the share trading stamp duty, capping at RM1,000 starting today,” the research house said.

The government has decided to temporarily suspend the permission for travelling to perform the umrah beginning Jan 8 to curb the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin yesterday said the decision was to slow down the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant as data obtained showed that almost 78 per cent of the ‘presumptive’ new Omicron cases were from those returning from the pilgrimage. 

Of heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB slipped two sen each to RM8.28 and RM5.43, respectively, Petronas Chemicals shed three sen to RM8.89, IHH Healthcare lost 36 sen to RM6.98, and Tenaga eased four sen to RM9.30, while Public Bank was flat at RM4.16.

Of the actives, SMTRack and NWP added half-a-sen each to 19.5 sen and 25 sen, respectively, while Kejuruteraan Asastera, DGB, Pasukhas were flat at 25.5 sen, three sen and 2.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index erased 140.68 points to 12,122.42, the FBM Emas Index fell 88.27 points to 11,220.52, the FBM 70 slid 6.14 points to 14,203.81, and the FBMT 100 Index contracted 97.36 points to 10,917.77.

However, the FBM ACE rose 24.44 points to 6,444.04.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.55 of-a-point to 202.16, the Financial Services Index went down 19.9 points to 15,545.73, while the Plantation Index gained 0.78 of-a-point to 6,552.89. — Bernama