KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 ― Bursa Malaysia remains lower at midday as investors liquidate their positions ahead of the Hari Raya holidays, said an analyst.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined by 3.05 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 1,556.93 from yesterday's close of 1,559.98.
The benchmark index opened 0.07 of-a-point lower at 1,559.91 and moved between 1,555.71 and 1,565.57 throughout the morning trading session.
On the broader market, losers beat gainers 470 to 398, while 485 counters were unchanged, 990 untraded and nine others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.08 billion units worth RM1.09 billion.
Stockbroking firm Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said that the trading activities are expected to be subdued at least for this week, given the shortened trading week and mixed sentiment from Wall Street.
“Nevertheless, we believe traders will focus on the utilities sector as investments in data centres could drive electricity demand going forward.
“Meanwhile, we favour the construction, building materials, and property sectors, in anticipation of more mega infrastructure projects to be announced this year. We also favour commodity-related stocks in the plantation, oil and gas, and gold segments,” it said in a note today.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank shed 4.0 sen to RM9.65, Public Bank slid 1.0 sen to RM4.18, CIMB Group dipped 7.0 sen to RM6.57, Tenaga Nasional slipped 10.0 sen to RM11.70, while Petronas Chemicals added 2.0 sen to RM6.81.
Among the actives, TWL Holdings and Velesto Energy were flat at 3.0 sen and 27.5 sen respectively, SP Setia slid 5.0 sen to RM1.40, while YTL Power International added 3.0 sen to RM4.05, and MRCB put on 1.0 sen to 68.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped by 18.30 points to 11,715.60, and the FBMT 100 Index decreased by 18.20 points to 11,352.50. The FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 11.70 points to 11,882.80, and the FBM 70 Index went down by 9.87 points to 16,358.40, while the FBM ACE Index rose 28.97 points to 5,009.81.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.01 of-a-point to 184.40, the Financial Services Index slid 56.20 points to 17,248.70, the Plantation Index shed 0.53 of-a-point to 7,480.52, while the Energy Index climbed 1.77 points to 963.25.
Bursa Malaysia and its subsidiaries will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday (April 10 and April 11) in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays, subject to the official announcement by the Keeper of the Ruler’s Seal. ― Bernama
