Bursa Malaysia Opens Slightly Higher On Bargain Hunting
By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani
KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia started the day slightly higher, buoyed by bargain hunting in telecommunications and transportation counters.
At 9.10 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.82 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 1,665.64 from Thursday’s close of 1,663.82.
The index opened 0.68 of a point higher at 1,664.50.
Market breadth was, however, negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 220 to 125. A total of 254 counters were unchanged, 2,144 untraded and 65 suspended.
Turnover amounted to 130.09 million shares valued at RM68.96 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed mixed as artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks resumed their volatile trading pattern, while Apple declined after raising prices on a number of its products, which weighed on overall market sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.14 per cent, the S&P 500 finished flat, and the Nasdaq declined 0.46 per cent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index lost 1.43 per cent to 23,076.91 points due to strong selling on mainland Chinese stocks.
Back home, the FBM KLCI retreated following heavy selling pressure in Press Metal Aluminium and Petronas Chemicals. This led the benchmark index to breach the 1,675 support level.
“The next downside support is seen near 1,660.
“Despite the weak technical picture, the recent decline has resulted in more compelling valuations, which may encourage bargain-hunting activities should selling pressure ease,” he told Bernama
He said the FBM KLCI is expected to move within the 1,660-1,670 range today.
Among heavyweight stocks, Axiata gained five sen to RM2.13, MISC advanced nine sen to RM7.88, while CelcomDigi, Maxis and Petronas Chemicals were up by three sen each to RM2.74, RM3.42 and RM3.95, respectively.
Among the active counters, Borneo Oil and TWL were flat at half a sen and two sen respectively. Vinvest Capital slid half a sen to 2.5 sen, Senheng added a sen to 12.5 sen, and AirAsia X declined two sen to RM1.21.
On the gainers’ list, United Plantations ticked up 32 sen to RM32.62, Analabs Resources climbed seven sen to RM1.77, and Ajinomoto rose six sen to RM18.94.
Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries shed 82 sen to RM48.18, F&N fell 48 sen to RM27.70, Vitrox slipped 15 sen to RM7.70, UWC eased 12 sen to RM6.48, and Kelington slipped 11 sen to RM7.83.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index was 1.24 points lower at 12,378.91, the FBM Top 100 Index added 0.67 of a point to 12,211.30, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index reduced 5.29 points to 12,282.39.
The FBM Mid 70 Index weakened 52.85 points to 17,846.76, and the FBM ACE Index shed 20.23 points to 4,766.83.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index grew 15.53 points to 19,613.77, the Energy Index fell 2.03 points to 743.37, the Plantation Index strengthened 6.44 points to 8,854.71, and the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.02 of a point to 180.81.
-- BERNAMA