PETALING JAYA: Bursa Malaysia closed lower for the sixth consecutive day yesterday in a tight trading range as investors continued to take profit and were reluctant to make significant moves following the technology sell-off on Wall Street last Friday, says an analyst.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI was marginally lower by 0.05% or 0.71 of-a-point to 1,589.66 from last Friday’s close of 1,590.37.
The benchmark index opened 0.50 of-a-point weaker at 1,589.87 and moved between 1,582.78 and 1,594.09 throughout the trading session.
The market breadth was negative with decliners outpacing gainers 914 to 302, with 447 counters unchanged, 774 untraded and 24 others suspended.
Turnover decreased to 5.01 billion units worth RM3.78bil from last Friday’s 5.83 billion units worth RM6.06bil.
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the healthcare and technology sectors were among the biggest decliners yesterday.
He said the technology sector dropped significantly due to concerns that technology stocks might start lagging.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the investors are focusing on this week’s key US inflation data for clues on interest rates.
The US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, is due out this Friday.
“As for the local bourse, we remain cautiously optimistic about the local equity market, driven by enticing valuations and increasing trading volume.
“However, uncertainties and increasing global volatility will also significantly influence the market’s direction,” he told Bernama.
Hence, Thong expects the benchmark index to maintain its sideways pattern with an upward bias for the week.
He foresees further upward potential if the benchmark index breaks through the 1,600 resistance and holds it for an extended period. “We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,590-1,610 for the week,” he added.
Of the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd
added two sen to RM9.88, Public Bank Bhd gained three sen to RM4.03 and IHH Healthcare Bhd climbed 12 sen to RM6.30.
Meanwhile, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd declined 11 sen to RM6.68 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd was flat at RM13.72.
Among the most active counters, My E.G. Services Bhd slid 1.5 sen to 99.5 sen, Techbase Industries Bhd rose three sen to 23.5 sen, and K-One Technology Bhd inched up half-a-sen to 30 sen, but Ingenieur Gudang Bhd was flat at 6.5 sen.
