KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — Bursa Malaysia saw choppy trading throughout the day, with China data further adding pressure to the global equities market, on top of earlier worries over oil market slump.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gave up 2.97 points to 1,442.85 from yesterday’s close of 1,445.82.

The barometer index opened 2.93 points easier at 1,442.89 and moved between 1,441.02 and 1,447.66 today.

The market breadth was bearish with decliners thumping gainers 603 to 322 while 398 counters were unchanged, 999 untraded and 35 others suspended.

Turnover increased to 3.01 billion units valued at RM1.98 billion from yesterday’s 2.80 billion units worth RMM1.81 billion.

China’s trade data for November saw exports rise for the first time in seven months, but imports continued to contract, signalling that the overall outlook remains cloudy.

Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the data has negatively influenced investor sentiment amid the slower-than-anticipated recovery.

China Customs statistics released today showed exports in US dollar terms rose by 0.5 per cent from a year ago, while Imports fell by 0.6 per cent, missing the forecast for a 3.3 per cent increase.

He said this, coupled with a weaker Wall Street overnight and falling oil prices have caused weak market sentiment prevailing across the region.

"Nevertheless, with the FBM KCLI nearing an oversold territory, we expect bargain hunting to emerge anytime soon and anticipate the index to trend within the 1,440-1,450 range towards the weekend.

"From a technical standpoint, if the 1,445 support is broken, the next support level is seen at 1,430, while resistance remains unchanged at 1,465,” he told Bernama.

Among heavyweights, Petronas-linked counters remained FBM KLCI laggards, with Petronas Dagangan dropping 44 sen to RM22.02 and Petronas Chemicals losing eight sen to RM6.95.

CelcomDigi and SIme Darby Plantation declined five sen to RM4.13 and RM4.45 respectively, while Press Metal slid six sen to RM4.78.

Main Market debutant, CPE Technology, was among the most active counters, falling 15.5 sen to 91.5 sen with 76.2 million shares changing hands.

Widad was flat at 47 sen, Classita eased one sen to 4.5 sen, while Reneuco rose 2.5 sen to 25.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 36.21 points to 10,619.09, the FBMT 100 Index shed 33.30 points to 10,291.14 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index sank 67.94 points to 10,728.06.

The FBM 70 Index dipped 97.70 points to 13,877.24 and the FBM ACE Index tumbled 76.97 points to 5,064.73.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 23.53 points to 16,335.74 while the Plantation Index slipped 22.32 points to 6,954.41.

The Energy Index edged down 13.88 points to 788.12 and the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 1.44 points to 168.49.

The Main Market volume expanded to 1.80 billion units valued at RM1.72 billion against 1.63 billion units valued at RM1.55 billion yesterday.

Warrants turnover swelled to 648.96 million units worth RM66.25 million from 588.31 million units worth RM58.95 million previously.

The ACE Market volume declined to 559.51 million shares valued at RM199.56 million versus 575.34 million shares valued at RM195.42 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 421.08 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (494.58 million); construction (92.18 million); technology (124.96 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (52.55 million); property (169.14 million); plantation (58.30 million); REITs (17.92 million), closed/fund (2,000); energy (145.70 million); healthcare (91.13 million); telecommunications and media (27.53 million); transportation and logistics (39.47 million); and utilities (62.76 million). — Bernama