KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — Bursa Malaysia opened marginally higher on Thursday but subsequently retreated due to subdued trading, as investors awaited the inflationary data on Friday, said an analyst.
At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 3.71 points to 1,587.24 from Wednesday’s close of 1,590.95.
The benchmark index had opened 0.58 points firmer at 1,591.53.
On the broader market, decliners led gainers 228 to 204, with 376 counters unchanged, 1,633 untraded and 73 suspended.
Turnover stood at 362.25 million units worth RM186.32 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, expects the index to hover within the 1,590-1,600 range today as recent selling may have run its course.
The FBM KLCI finally closed on a positive note after seven days of losses, underpinned by some bargain-hunting activities.
“Nonetheless, we believe trading would be rather subdued as many will be waiting for the inflationary data on Friday,” he told Bernama.
He added that crude oil prices remained strong as Brent crude stayed above US$85 per barrel, and many are expecting prices to go higher amid increasing demand and supply deficiency.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank slipped two sen to RM9.94, IHH Healthcare eased four sen to RM6.23, Tenaga Nasional added six sen to RM13.98, CIMB gained three sen to RM6.79 and Public Bank was flat at RM4.01.
As for the actives, Ingenieur Gudang eased half-a-sen to six sen, YNH Property shed seven sen to 53.5 sen, SBH Marine garnered 2.5 sen to 34.5 sen, WCT Holdings inched up half-a-sen to 83.5 sen and Jaks Resources was flat at 16.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 23.07 points to 12,187.68, the FBMT 100 Index gave up 24.69 points to 11,767.65, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 31.87 points to 12,535.67, the FBM 70 Index declined 26.99 points to 17,761.87 and the FBM ACE Index inched down 0.2 points to 5,723.11.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index reduced by 0.21 of-a-point to 959.78, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased by 0.7 of-a-point to 196.14, and the Plantation Index weakened by 7.17 points to 6,980.76.
However, the Financial Services Index improved by 4.52 points to 17,449.75. — Bernama
