KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 9): Bursa Malaysia opened marginally higher but retreated thereafter, as traders were still weighing the US Federal Reserve’s battle against inflation, amid mixed regional market sentiment, a dealer said.
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At 9.06am on Friday (Sept 9), the FBM KLCI had inched down 0.83 of a point to 1,493.90, from Thursday’s close at 1,494.73.
The benchmark index opened 1.02 points firmer at 1,495.75.
However, on the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 142 to 88, while 176 counters were unchanged, 1,899 untraded and nine others suspended.
Turnover stood at 76.19 million units worth RM37.3 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the broad-based sentiment is expected to remain lacklustre, although buying activities are likely to persist for banking stocks on Friday, due to Bank Negara Malaysia’s overnight policy rate (OPR) hike.
The central bank increased the OPR by 25 basis points to 2.50% in its fifth Monetary Policy Committee meeting of the year on Thursday.
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Thong expects the index to possibly trend within a tight range of between 1,490 and 1,500 on Friday, noting that the plantation sector may face some headwinds, as the crude palm oil price continued to slide down due to weaker demand and high inventory levels.
Among the heavyweights, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd stood at RM5.41, Axiata Group Bhd at RM2.93 and Maxis Bhd at RM3.83, with all three of them up by one sen. Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd gained three sen to RM5.05, while Public Bank Bhd was flat at RM4.64.
Of the actives, Metronic Global Bhd was unchanged at 4.5 sen, Tanco Holdings Bhd rose 1.5 sen to 27.5 sen, Mi Technovation Bhd increased seven sen to RM1.20 and HB Global Ltd improved half a sen to 14 sen, while Vinvest Capital Holdings Bhd lost half a sen to 19.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 1.55 points lower at 10,612.35, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 2.59 points to 10,361.08 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index reduced 6.60 points to 10,697.77, while the FBM 70 expanded 9.78 points to 12,754.88 and the FBM ACE was 3.20 points stronger at 4,805.30.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index was 25.73 points weaker at 6,997.47, while the Industrial Products and Services Index gained 0.50 of a point to 185.83, the Energy Index rose 1.15 points to 707.65 and the Financial Services Index ticked up 3.61 points to 16,738.67.-BERNAMA