KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — Bursa Malaysia opened marginally higher but retreated thereafter, dampened by selling in index-linked counters amid mixed market sentiment, despite firmer performance on Wall Street overnight, said a dealer.
At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 2.12 points to 1,547.78 from Thursday’s close of 1,549.90.
The benchmark index opened 1.34 points firmer at 1,551.24.
On the broader market, however, gainers led losers 239 to 137, while 237 counters were unchanged, 1,633 untraded and 12 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 313.43 million units worth RM105.21 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said Wall Street rebounded as the Dow Jones Index rose 1.3 per cent, recovering all its previous session losses in anticipation of softer labour data, and that may provide some cushion to the concern over inflationary pressure.
Nevertheless, the firm expects to see bargain-hunting activities across the sectors, given the strong rebound on Wall Street overnight.
“We believe crude oil price to remain elevated in the near term on the back of reduced Russian output and larger-than-expected drawdown in the US inventories, thus inflationary pressure may not abate anytime soon,” it said in a note.
The firm added that both crude palm oil (CPO) and Brent crude oil prices were on the rise, with the former trading around RM6,500 per tonne, while the latter trading above US$117 per barrel.
Among the heavyweights, both Maybank and Petronas Chemicals lost 3.0 sen to RM8.91 and RM9.96, respectively, IHH Healthcare and CIMB fell 4.0 sen each to RM6.50 and RM5.14, respectively, while Public Bank added 1.0 sen to RM4.62.
Of the actives, Serba Dinamik rose 2.5 sen to 13 sen, its warrants gained 1.0 sen to 5.0 sen, both MQ Technology and Dagang Nexchange increased half-a-sen to 5.5 sen and RM1.0, respectively, while Sapura Energy slid half-a-sen to 5.5 sen.
Meanwhile, shares trading for Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd and Cocoaland Holdings Bhd have been suspended with effect from 9 am today, pending an announcement from both companies.
On the index board, the FBM ACE perked up 27.34 points to 5,263.74, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 2.85 points to 11,399.45, and the FBM 70 appreciated 37.12 points to 13,304.17, while the FBM Emas Index was 1.86 points weaker at 11,056.04 and the FBMT 100 Index slipped 4.26 points to 10,751.95.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.22 of-a point weaker at 200.13, the Financial Services Index declined 19.59 points to 16,726.30, while the Plantation Index increased 19.02 points to 7,921.07. — Bernama
