KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 27): Bursa Malaysia ended mixed on Friday (Jan 27) with the barometer index declining for three straight days during the holiday-shortened week, bucking the strong performance of key regional bourses, said a dealer.

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.84 of-a-point to 1,497.55 from Thursday’s close of 1,498.39.

The market bellwether opened 1.58 points higher at 1,499.97 and moved between 1,493.07 and 1,500.91 throughout the session.

However, on the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 542 to 385, while 403 counters were unchanged, 917 untraded and 49 others suspended

Turnover rose to 4.62 billion units worth RM2.42 billion against Thursday's 3.75 billion units worth RM2.03 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama the local bourse was stuck in a consolidation mode for the holiday-shortened week as sentiments were still cautious from the lack of buying catalysts despite the persistent buying from local institutions and retail investors.

“We noticed that buying activities have shifted to smaller cap stocks, particularly in the construction, transportation and energy sectors.

“The performance of the benchmark index remained lagging compared to its regional peers, at the same time providing cheaper valuations, hence providing buying opportunities for investors," he said.

Regionally, he said key indices trended higher as investors digested Tokyo’s consumer price index which rose 4.3%, growing faster than estimates nearing the highest for Japan’s capital since mid-1981.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong market continued to rise as investors remain optimistic about the reopening of China’s economy, he noted.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.07% to 27,382.56, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.76% to 22,688.9, South Korea’s Kospi increased 0.62% to 2,484.02 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.34% to 3,388.58.

Back home, Bursa heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd shed four sen to RM8.74, Public Bank Bhd slipped three sen to RM4.25, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd dropped three sen to RM8.48, while CIMB Group Holdings Bhd added two sen to RM5.74, and Tenaga Nasional Bhd gained three sen to RM9.55.

As for the actives, MMAG Holdings Bhd edged up half-a-sen to 2.5 sen, ATA IMS Bhd rose one sen to 40.5 sen, Nylex (Malaysia) Bhd advanced 11.5 sen to 54.5 sen, Velesto Energy Bhd eased half-a-sen to 22 sen, and Sapura Energy Bhd was flat at five sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index bagged 12.44 points to 10,893.36, the FBMT 100 Index added 9.81 points to 10,563.91, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 28.42 points to 11,177.55.

The FBM 70 Index surged 80.37 points to 13,759.84 and the FBM ACE Index advanced 43.64 points to 5,731.23.  

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index improved by 0.22 of-a-point to 190.77, the Energy Index added 10.12 points to 880.76, the Plantation Index lost 2.38 points to 6,841.23, and the Financial Services Index fell 33.6 points to 16,470.19.

The Main Market volume increased to 2.88 billion shares worth RM2.02 billion compared with Thursday’s 2.37 billion shares worth RM1.62 billion.

Warrants turnover expanded to 419.36 million units worth RM57.86 million from 410.29 million units worth RM59.9 million previously.

The ACE Market volume rose to 1.32 billion shares worth RM345.66 million from 969.87 million shares worth RM344.36 million on Thursday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 392.3 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (901.28 million), construction (106.78 million), technology (530.42 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (73.18 million), property (167.14 million), plantation (37.67 million), REITs (9.18 million), closed/fund (23,800), energy (502.97 million), healthcare (59.52 million), telecommunications and media (44.68 million), transportation and logistics (43.48 million), and utilities (14.81 million).