KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 — Bursa Malaysia ended almost unchanged after enduring a bumpy trading day on Tuesday, with the barometer index getting a last-minute push from Sime Darby Plantation.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.01 of-a-point higher at 1,474.69 compared to last Friday's closing of 1,474.68.
The market bellwether opened 0.29 of-a-point lower at 1,474.39 and subsequently moved between 1,468.15 and 1,477.43 throughout the session.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 491 to 392, while 375 counters were unchanged, 1,012 untraded, and 12 others suspended.
Turnover rose to 3.06 billion units worth RM1.85 billion versus 2.12 billion units worth RM1.23 billion on Friday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said trading was muted as some markets were still closed for the Christmas holidays.
'’Despite some profit-taking, we believe the market undertone is still steady and expect the benchmark index to stay positive for the week.
“Moreover, news that China may open its border with Hong Kong in January will inject some excitement into the markets, particularly in the region including Malaysia,” he told Bernama.
Regionally, the equity markets were mostly in positive territory with buying in technology and energy stocks.
“A set of fresh data last week indicated a slowing of US inflation, although many investors kept their guard high, predicting sluggish overall growth next year,” Thong noted.
Back home, he said the FBM KLCI is anticipated to trend higher within the 1,470-1,500 range for the week.
At the close, all banking heavyweights were in the red, led by Public Bank and Maybank, which lost 14 sen each to RM4.30 and RM8.64 respectively.
Both AMMB and Hong Leong Bank were 10 sen lower at RM4.14 and RM20.46 respectively, while RHB and CIMB slid nine sen each to RM5.65 respectively.
Meanwhile, Sime Darby Plantation soared 22 sen to RM4.57, IOI added 14 sen to RM4.04, and KLK jumped 54 sen to RM21.74.
Of the actives, Top Glove jumped 10.5 sen to RM92.5 sen, Cypark rose 5.5 sen to 44 sen, Careplus perked up 4.5 sen to 50.5 sen, while Borneo Oil and Advance Synergy were both flat at 2.5 sen and 17.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index improved 21.59 points to 10,610.88, the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 136.70 points to 10,844.42, the FBM 70 Index increased 114.27 points to 13,095.88, the FBMT 100 Index rose 20.44 points to 10,321.63, and the FBM ACE Index slipped 127.02 points to 5,353.65.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index fell 269.66 points to 16.354.37, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.35 points to 180.27, the Plantation Index soared 203.20 points to 6,988.43, and the Energy Index gained 6.20 points to 787.95.
The Main Market volume expanded to 2.01 billion shares worth RM1.47 billion against 1.24 billion shares worth RM935.17 million Friday.
Warrants turnover shrank to 132.22 million units valued at RM14.27 million versus 334.63 million units valued at RM61.64 million.
The ACE Market volume swelled to 911.63 million shares worth RM363.78 million compared with 543.45 million shares worth RM235.02 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 296.03 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (811.09 million); construction (38 million); technology (208.24 million); SPAC (nil), financial services (78.93 million); property (87.47 million); plantation (33.89 million); REITs (3.38 million), closed/fund (3,000); energy (119.09 million); healthcare (279.39 million); telecommunications and media (16.11 million); transportation and logistics (23.68 million); and utilities (15.70 million). — Bernama
