SPI Asset Management's Innes said Bursa Malaysia is coming off a sizzling rally, attributed to the improving global goods cycle and product-specific trends.
PETALING JAYA: Bursa Malaysia reversed its gains on Tuesday to end lower in sync with the downbeat regional market performances, weighed down by cautious sentiments ahead of the release of the US consumer price index (CPI) data today.
At 5pm yesterday, the FBM KLCI slid 11.97 points to 1,486.86 from Tuesday’s close of 1,498.83.
The benchmark index opened 1.03 points weaker at 1,497.80 and moved between 1,486.72 and 1,497.80 throughout the day.
On the broader market, decliners led gainers 588 to 359, while 497 counters were unchanged, 775 untraded and 20 others suspended.
Turnover declined to 4.97 billion units worth RM2.84bil from 6.44 billion units worth RM3.77bil on Tuesday.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said Asian equity markets, including Bursa Malaysia, have been partly influenced by the struggles of the Hang Seng Index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.
He said sentiments on the global markets have weakened with the US dollar strengthening, equity benchmarks declining and US Treasury yields falling.
“The exact drivers of these market movements are not entirely clear, as the overnight macro data did not indicate anything exceptional in terms of economic weakness.
“Global factors that stand out are the growing concerns ahead of the US CPI data, as inflation could run high and there might be a shift in the bullish narrative as global traders question whether bets on US Federal Reserve rate cuts are overdone,” he told Bernama.
Back home, Innes said Bursa Malaysia is coming off a sizzling rally, attributed to the improving global goods cycle and product-specific trends, such as the artificial intelligence (AI) chip boom, benefiting local chip producers.
“While the AI sector is expected to continue thriving, some profit-taking may have set in,” he added.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd
, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd eased 10 sen each to RM9, RM5.95 and RM7, respectively, while Public Bank Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd fell eight sen each to RM4.31 and RM10.48, respectively.
Of the actives, TWL Holdings Bhd was half-a-sen higher at five sen, Minetech Resources Bhd and Pan Malaysia Holdings Holdings Bhd lost one sen each to 22.5 sen and 14 sen, respectively, Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd inched down half-a-sen to two sen and Fintec Global Bhd was flat at 1.5 sen.
