BURSA MALAYSIA ENDS LOWER ON REGIONAL JITTERS AS US ELECTION UNCERTAINTY WEIGHS

By NurulJannah Kamaruddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia mirrored regional jitters to end lower as the US election nears with polls indicating a closely contested race.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 13.20 points or 0.82 per cent to 1,601.88 from yesterday’s close of 1,615.08. 

The benchmark index opened 0.18 of-a-point lower at 1,614.90 and moved between 1,601.45 and 1,615.36 throughout the session.

On the broader market, decliners thumped gainers 671 to 363, while 474 counters were unchanged, 984 untraded, and 123 suspended.

Turnover improved to 2.52 billion units valued at RM2.96 billion versus 2.48 billion units valued at RM2.26 billion yesterday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd’s equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said although there was positive corporate news from tech giants in the US, it wasn’t enough to provide clear direction amid uncertainties over the election and the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) stance.

Traders are also cautiously awaiting the advanced US gross domestic product data later today, the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision on Thursday and the upcoming Nov 4-8 meeting of China’s top legislative body, which may bring announcements of further fiscal stimulus.

“Nevertheless, we reckon today's sell-off presents an opportunity for bargain hunting in the local market given the cheap valuation of Malaysian equities especially blue chips as their fundamentals remain strong.

“As such, we anticipate the benchmark index to trend within the 1,600-1,615 range towards the weekend,” he told Bernama.

Sharing similar views, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said that given the FBM KLCI’s decline of over 50 points in the past month, bargain hunters may emerge, potentially lending support to the market.

He noted that today’s performance may also be due to investors taking positions following tomorrow’s public holiday in conjunction with the Deepavali celebration.

Maxis led the list of decliners among the heavyweights, losing 18 sen to RM3.62. 

Sime Darby slipped 13 sen to RM2.32, SD Guthrie slid 11 sen to RM4.60, CIMB shaved 10 sen to RM7.99 and Public Bank shed four sen to RM4.42.

Among the active counters, Pegasus Heights ended half-a-sen lower at half-a-sen, TWL was flat at 2.5 sen, MyEG lost three sen to 83.5 sen, Northeast Group trimmed 1.5 sen to 66 sen, and Niche Capital rose 1.5 sen to 20 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 76.72 points to 12,103.23, the FBMT 100 Index lost 75.23 points to 11,814.10 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 86.21 points to 12,062.16.

The FBM 70 Index slid 30.63 points to 17,602.87 and the FBM ACE Index trimmed 26.63 points to 5,005.65.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slipped 72.27 points to 19,086.68, the Plantation Index fell 81.57 points to 7,253.77, the Energy Index gave up 0.71 of-a-point to 835.25, and the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.78 of-a-point to 174.17.

The Main Market volume expanded to 1.46 billion units worth RM2.70 billion from Tuesday’s 1.34 billion units worth RM2.0 billion.

Warrants turnover narrowed to 622.42 million units valued at RM105.06 million from 668.37 million units valued at RM107.01 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume dwindled to 434.67 million units worth RM158.01 million versus 447.69 million units worth RM151.19 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 195.66 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (216.80 million), construction (105.36 million), technology (160.24 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (116.36 million), property (361.76 million), plantation (38.53 million), REITs (15.91 million), closed/fund (117,300), energy (72.18 million), healthcare (45.53 million), telecommunications and media (26.87 million), transportation and logistics (25.24 million), utilities (76.71 million), and business trusts (9,800).

-- BERNAMA