KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia traded flat at midday on Tuesday, with the benchmark FBM KLCI inching up 0.65 of a point, or 0.04% to 1,511.99.
Dealers said investors were cautious after a slide on Wall Street overnight. Investors are also holding back from making large bets ahead of the long weekend in conjunction with Chinese New Year.
The FBM KLCI opened 1.03 points lower at 1,510.31 this morning. It hit an intra-morning high of 1,513.98.
Across the market, decliners outnumbered gainers 435 to 387. The trading volume was 1.75 billion shares changing hands for RM919.8mil.
ACE-market debutant Wentel Engineering Holdings Bhd
rose two sen, or 7.69% to 28 sen with 214.83 million shares traded.
Gainers on Bursa Malaysia included F&N, up 44 sen to RM28.88. Heineken rose 28 sen to RM24.96, United Plantations gained 26 sen to RM19.84 and Ajinomoto added 14 sen to RM16.40.
Losses were led by KESM, which lost 30 sen to RM6.66. Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 10 sen to RM22.12, PGF Capital gave up 10 sen to RM1.75 and Kluang Rubber declined nine sen to RM4.65.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Research said the local market is likely to continue trending sideways (resistance: 1,528-1,548; support: 1,484-1,498), with more subdued trading activities ahead of the Chinese New Year celebrations.
“Sentiment is likely to remain cautious, in the wake of the unabated selloff
in China markets and renewed weakness in ringgit (vs US dollar) amid rising bets that the Fed may delay further interest rate cuts until inflation is moving down to 2% in a sustainable way,” it added.
TA Securities said stocks should pause for profit-taking consolidation given overbought momentum sparked by the recent run-up on the index to a fresh 17-month high.
“Key index supports cushioning downside will be at 1,489, 1,478 and 1,464, the respective rising 30-day, 50-day and 100-day moving averages, while immediate overhead resistance remains at 1,520, with stronger upside hurdles at 1,550 and 1,580,” it said.
