KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 14): Bursa Malaysia was lower in early trade on Monday (Nov 14) despite more robust third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) results as investors turned cautious ahead of the 15th general election (GE15) this week, said an analyst.

At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 3.15 points to 1,465.06 from last Friday's close of 1,468.21.

The market bellwether opened 0.78 points better at 1,468.99.

On the broader market, gainers led decliners 150 to 114, while 248 counters were unchanged, 1,813 untraded, and 13 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 114.81 million units worth RM39.16 million.  

Last Friday, the index was 1.27%, or 18.47 points, higher at 1,468.21 following the newly released third quarter economic data, which saw Malaysia's economy grow by 14.2%.

Kenanga Research said investors will be waiting for the outcome of GE15 before making their next move on the local bourse.

It reckons that as the country approaches polling day this Saturday, investors will likely stay on the sidelines first.

"While no two general elections (GEs) are exactly the same, they may still feel jittery judging by the past stock market performances in the run-up to the three most recent GEs, which had witnessed considerable changes in the local political landscape.

"The cautious mood may also be clouded by a dearth of news flows in the week ahead," said the research house in a note on Monday.

In particular, for the one-week period prior to voting day, the FBM KLCI had previously logged negative returns of 4.5% in 2008 (GE12), 0.7% in 2013 (GE13), and 1.3% in 2018 (GE14), it noted.

"In spite of the renewed buying momentum, we reckon it is still premature to say the bulls are back.

“The benchmark index could swing with a downward bias towards our revised immediate support threshold of 1,440. Our first resistance hurdle is now placed at 1,475," it shared.

Among Bursa Malaysia heavyweight stocks, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) was flat at RM8.60, and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd was unchanged at RM8.73, while Public Bank Bhd went down two sen to RM4.43. CIMB Group Holdings Bhd shed three sen to RM5.49, and IHH Healthcare Bhd fell three sen to RM5.97.

Among the actives, Advance Synergy Bhd shed half-a-sen to 13 sen, Ta Win Holdings Bhd slipped half-a-sen to eight sen, and Lambo Group Bhd reduced 1.5 sen to four sen. Techna-X Bhd improved one sen to 3.5 sen and Jade Marvel Group Bhd inched up half-a-sen to 28.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 8.2 points to 10,521.38, the FBM Emas Index dropped 10.17 points to 10,406.73, and the FBMT 100 Index narrowed 12.1 points to 10,139.49.

However, the FBM 70 expanded 24.32 points to 12,396.34, and the FBM ACE added 4.6 points to 5,097.91.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index trimmed 28.5 points to 16,324.73, and the Plantation Index weakened 37.28 points to 6,865.45.

The Energy Index was 3.42 points stronger at 727.74, and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.5 of a point to 179.9.