KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 29):  Bursa Malaysia reversed earlier gains to close in negative territory on Thursday (Sept 29), with the benchmark index falling below the 1,400-psychological mark due to a lack of buying support, said an analyst.   

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 4.39 points or 0.31% to settle at 1,397.5, after opening 5.5 points higher at 1,407.39. 

The benchmark index, which opened 5.5 points higher at 1,407.39, moved between 1,395.81 and 1,410.76 throughout the day.     

On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 499 to 343, while 412 counters were unchanged, 1,147 untraded, and 57 others suspended.

Total turnover increased to 2.28 billion units worth RM1.86 billion, from Wednesday’s 2.14 billion units worth RM2.06 billion.   

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng expects investors’ sentiment to remain jittery for the moment due to continuous selling by foreign funds and external factors such as increasing market risks and volatility in global markets, amid the multi-year high inflation in the United States.

“On the other hand, the FBM KLCI remained in an oversold position after recent heavy selldowns. We expect the benchmark index to consolidate within the range of 1,390-1,405 towards the weekend,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, key regional indices ended mixed despite overnight gains on Wall Street. 

“Gains are capped by growing fears that aggressive interest rate hikes this year by the US Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Asia to cool inflation that is at multi-decade highs, might tip the global economy into recession,” said Thong. 

Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.14% to 3,120.79, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index widened 0.95% to 26,422.05, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.49% to 17,165.87, and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index went down 0.58% to 7,036.20.

Among Bursa Malaysia’s heavyweight stocks, Petronas Chemicals added two sen to RM8.39, CIMB advanced four sen to RM5.15, Maybank and Press Metal were flat at RM8.56 and RM4 respectively, while Public Bank slipped six sen to RM4.20, IHH Healthcare shed one sen to RM5.92, and TNB dipped 15 sen to RM8.25.

Of the actives, PT Resources and MY E.G. Services Bhd (MyEG) went up two sen each to 43.5 sen and 85.5 sen, NWP was flat at 24.5 sen, Top Glove and Velesto both edged down half-a-sen to 58.5 sen and 11 sen, while Cnergenz gave up four sen to RM1.04. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 28.01 points to 9,981.44, the FBM 70 eased 11.07 points to 12,155.58, and the FBMT 100 Index declined 25.40 points to 9,735.11. 

The FBM Emas Shariah Index trimmed 31.92 points to 10,041.85, and the FBM ACE gained 4.15 points to 4,660.05.   

Sector-wise, the Energy Index added 1.18 points to 671.5, the Plantation Index advanced 45.42 points to 6,504.5, the Financial Services Index tumbled 41.28 points to 15,882.34, and the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.18 of-a-point to 169.97.   

The Main Market volume appreciated to 1.46 billion shares worth RM1.57 billion, from Wednesday’s 1.31 billion shares worth RM1.77 billion.  

Warrants turnover stood at 228.98 million units valued at RM41.72 million, from 295.14 million units valued at RM45.78 million the day before.  

The ACE Market volume increased to 583.68 million shares worth RM251.01 million, from 541.51 million shares worth RM243.68 million on Wednesday.    

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 222.70 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (412.36 million), construction (37.38 million), technology (132.18 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (78.13 million), property (89.33 million), plantation (18.75 million), REITs (6.04 million), closed/fund (20,000), energy (203.97 million), healthcare (184.92 million), telecommunications and media (24.09 million), transportation and logistics (30.91 million) and utilities (20.44 million).