KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 2): Bursa Malaysia closed marginally lower on Tuesday, the first trading day of the year, due to a lack of buying interest amid subdued market performance across the region, said a dealer.

Rakuten Trade equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the key regional indices were mostly lower following the negative cue from Wall Street last Friday (Dec 29). 

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed 0.1% or 1.56 points easier to 1,453.1 from last Friday’s close of 1,454.66.

The benchmark index which opened 2.46 points weaker at 1,452.2, moved between 1,446.36 and 1,453.56 throughout the trading session. 

In the broader market, gainers however surpassed decliners 512 to 463, while 399 counters were unchanged, 854 untraded and 22 others suspended.

Turnover went up to 4.91 billion units worth RM2 billion from 4.67 billion units valued at RM2.96 billion on Friday.

Thong further said that, simultaneously, increasing tensions in the Middle East, marked by Iran deploying a warship in the Red Sea, have had an impact on investor sentiment.

Meanwhile, he said the market's spotlight now centres on a barrage of data scheduled for release this week, which would offer a clearer picture of the available space for major central banks across the globe to implement monetary policy easing and the potential timing of the impending rate cuts.

“As for the local bourse, we view today's [Tuesday] selldown as a good opportunity for bargain hunting, as valuations of local equities remain attractive, particularly among blue-chip stocks.

“Consequently, we expect the benchmark index to stage a rebound anytime soon and anticipate it to hover within the 1,450-1,470 range for the week,” he said. 

Thong added that from a technical standpoint, Rakuten Trade has spotted immediate support at 1,450 followed by 1,440 and resistance at 1,465.

On Bursa Malaysia, heavyweights Sime Darby Plantation Bhd was down nine sen to RM4.37, IHH Healthcare Bhd dipped four sen to RM5.99, and Hong Leong Bank Bhd slid 24 sen to RM18.66.

Public Bank Bhd eased a sen to RM4.28, Maxis Bhd shed four sen to RM3.81 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd slid six sen to RM9.98.

Of the actives, Fintec Global Bhd and BSL Corp Bhd were both flat at one sen and 4.5 sen respectively, Fast Energy Holdings Bhd rose 4.5 sen to 17.5 sen, Metronic Global Bhd perked up half a sen to two sen, while Sapura Energy Bhd ticked up a sen to 5.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index trimmed 4.62 points to 10,481.1, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 10.44 points to 10,978.27, the FBM Emas Index shed 2.72 points to 10,820.98, the FBMT 100 Index dipped 4.62 points to 10,481.1 while the FBM ACE Index rose 32.52 points to 5,354.55.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was up 1.37 points to 174.36 but the Financial Services Index slid 16.31 points to 16,246.73.

The Plantation Index lost 39.83 points to 6,968.13, the Energy Index climbed 1.64 points to 819.37, and the Property Index increased 2.23 points to 864.34.

The Main Market volume narrowed to 2.66 billion units worth RM1.63 billion against 2.68 billion units valued at RM2.57 billion on Friday.  

Warrants turnover surged to 809.3 million units valued at RM82.75 million from 475.43 million units worth RM48.80 million previously. 

The ACE Market volume declined to 1.42 billion shares valued at RM289.98 million versus 1.46 billion shares valued at RM335.06 million on Friday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 391.19 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (902.81 million); construction (195.49 million); technology (259.69 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (38.53 million); property (233.93 million); plantation (15.94 million); REITs (10.84 million), closed/fund (11,000); energy (215.85 million); healthcare (134.4 million); telecommunications and media (43.26 million); transportation and logistics (80.2 million); and utilities (142.46 million).