BURSA MALAYSIA PULLS BACK AMID BROAD-BASED SELLING

By Zufazlin Baharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia retreated to close lower today following broad-based selling after a four-day rally, primarily due to profit-taking, amid the mostly weaker regional peers, said an analyst.

At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 10.60 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 1,577.20 from yesterday’s close of 1,587.80.

The index opened 1.28 points lower at 1,586.52 and moved between 1,575.67 and 1,586.52 during the day.

Market breadth was negative with losers thumping gainers 671 to 283, while 503 counters were unchanged, 940 untraded and 83 suspended.

Turnover climbed to 3.23 billion units valued at RM2.74 billion from Wednesday’s 2.99 billion units valued at RM2.24 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the benchmark index took a breather after four consecutive days of gains as investors locked in profits.

“We view this as a healthy correction, allowing the market to absorb the recent uptrend and presenting a favourable opportunity to accumulate stocks at lower levels,” he told Bernama.

He opined the overall outlook suggests caution in the short term but remains positive in the long term, provided key support levels hold.

“We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trade within the 1,570-1,590 range towards the weekend,” he added.

Meanwhile UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said besides profit-taking, investors responed to US President Donald Trump’s announcement on the Stargate artificial intelligence (AI) project.

“The market’s reaction to this news has largely been positive, with investors anticipating potential opportunities to earn from overnight stock price spikes.

“However, there is also some concerns regarding the potential impact of the Stargate project on data centres in Malaysia,” he said.

He added that investors will also be closely watching the release of the US initial jobless claims later today as it could provide further insights into the health of the US labour market and influence market sentiment in the short term.

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank declined six sen to RM4.34, CIMB reduced nine sen to RM7.97, IHH Healthcare decreased one sen to RM7.17, and Tenaga Nasional dropped eight sen to RM13.80 while  Maybank was flat at RM10.36.

As for active stocks, newly-listed Oriental Kopi Holdings jumped 43.5 sen to 87.5 sen, Harvest Miracle Capital gained half-a-sen to 18 sen, Swift Energy Technology and PUC were both flat at 36.5 sen and 4.5 sen respectively, while Gamuda eased six sen to RM4.29.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index fell 76.80 points to 12,082.77, the FBMT 100 Index declined 73.02 points to 11,768.80, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 85.20 points to 11,950.10, the FBM ACE Index trimmed 13.23 points to 5,225.36, and the FBM 70 Index lost 89.19 points to 18,037.61.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index dipped 12.38 points to 842.64, the Financial Services Index sank 83.08 points to 18,862.34, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.29 points to 168.92, and the Plantation Index shed 15.02 points to 7,406.68.

The Main Market volume trimmed to 1.07 billion units worth RM1.80 billion against Wednesday’s 1.28 billion units worth RM1.96 billion.

Warrants turnover tumbled to 801.86 million units valued at RM88.14 million versus 1.13 billion units valued at RM112.48 million previously.   

The ACE Market volume surged to 1.36 billion units worth RM852.76 million from 541.74 million units worth RM162.58 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 180.86 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (178.11 million), construction (76.57 million), technology (135.89 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (53.45 million), property (164.10 million), plantation (19.85 million), REITs (14.28 million), closed/fund (191,100), energy (119.88 million), healthcare (37.72 million), telecommunications and media (22.61 million), transportation and logistics (16.44 million), utilities (49.56 million), and business trusts (5,600).

-- BERNAMA