By Anas Abu Hassan
KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia retreated from yesterday's gains to close in negative territory on Thursday as broad-based profit-taking following the recent uptrend mirrored the performance of most regional markets, an analyst said.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 10.49 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 1,573.02 from Wednesday’s close of 1,583.51.
The benchmark index opened 0.76 of-a-point easier at 1,582.75, and reached a high of 1,586.85 in the early morning session before succumbing to selling pressure to dip to a low of 1,572.27 in the afternoon session.
In the broader market, losers trounced gainers 626 to 459, while 453 counters were unchanged, 856 untraded and seven suspended.
Turnover declined to 3.71 billion units worth RM2.74 billion against 4.20 billion units worth RM3.29 billion yesterday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices were mostly in downtrend mode due to profit-taking as optimism surrounding the United States-China trade deal seemed to be easing.
On the domestic front, he said today's profit-taking is deemed as a healthy consolidation as it allows the market to digest the recent rally and establish a stronger foundation for a more sustainable uptrend.
"We remain cautiously optimistic, supported by the return of foreign buying and improving market volume," he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan expects the local equity market to remain in consolidation mode, with investor sentiment likely to stay cautious ahead of the release of Malaysia’s first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figures tomorrow.
"In our view, any near-term consolidation should be viewed as healthy and constructive within a broader recovery narrative," he added.
Among heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional each fell 10 sen to RM10.10 and RM14.20 respectively, Public Bank lost two sen to RM4.51, CIMB erased eight sen to RM7.16, and IHH Healthcare slipped three sen to RM7.03.
For active stocks, SFP Tech gained three sen to 26.5 sen, Ekovest and Reach Ten were four sen higher at 39 sen and 59 sen respectively, Cahya Mata Sarawak perked up 10 sen to RM1.30, while Sapura Energy and Harvest Miracle were flat at 4.5 sen and 17.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 62.32 points to 11,774.01, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 67.53 points to 11,519.58, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 52.43 points to 11,718.62.
The FBM 70 Index declined 61.73 points to 16,811.18 and the FBM ACE Index fell 15.86 points to 4,775.14.
Across sectors, the Financial Services Index tumbled 102.30 points to 18,470.49, the Industrial Products and Services Index dipped 1.10 points to 159.79, and the Energy Index erased 6.02 points to 737.34.
Meanwhile, the Plantation Index rose 30.70 points to 7,388.10.
The Main Market volume decreased to 1.82 billion units valued at RM2.40 billion against 2.08 billion units valued at RM2.92 billion on Thursday.
Warrants turnover narrowed to 1.35 billion units worth RM172.47 million from 1.51 billion units worth RM181.96 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume dwindled to 537.16 million units valued at RM169.20 million versus 612.45 million units valued at RM191.76 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 285.88 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (272.49 million), construction (174.92 million), technology (300.75 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (69.76 million), property (228.93 million), plantation (31.27 million), REITs (16.37 million), closed/fund (7,500), energy (228.08 million), healthcare (55.90 million), telecommunications and media (81.62 million), transportation and logistics (26.91 million), utilities (46.46 million), and business trusts (21,100).
-- BERNAMA
