Bursa Malaysia Ends Lower As US Bond Yields, Fed Tightening Concerns Weigh
By Harizah Hanim Mohamed and Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s main index closed lower today after a choppy trading session amid concerns over elevated United States (US) bond yields and the possibility of further monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve, said an analyst.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 4.47 points to close 0.26 per cent lower at 1,674.74 points from Tuesday’s close of 1,679.21 points.
The stock exchange was closed for trading yesterday in observance of Malaysia Day.
The benchmark index opened 1.71 points lower at 1,677.50, moving between 1,670.75 and 1,684.92 throughout the trading session.
Market breadth was subdued, with losers surpassing gainers 673 to 465. A total of 548 counters were unchanged, 1,170 untraded and 13 suspended.
Turnover inched up to 3.60 billion units worth RM3.25 billion, from 3.34 billion units valued at RM3.25 billion on Tuesday.
Berjaya Research Sdn Bhd head of research Kenneth Leong said the firm maintained a cautious bias on the FBM KLCI amid elevated US Treasury yields and lingering concerns over the global interest rate outlook.
“Nevertheless, the recent weakness could increasingly attract bargain hunting as the key index approaches oversold territory, particularly among fundamentally sound counters.
“Investors will also be monitoring the Bank of Japan’s interest rate decision and Malaysia’s inflation data expected to be released tomorrow for further clues on the regional monetary policy outlook and domestic price pressures,” he told Bernama.
Technically, Leong said the key index has formed another bearish candlestick, maintaining its pullback mode.
“The immediate resistance levels are now at 1,687 points, followed by 1,700 points, while support levels are located at 1,666 points and 1,655 points, respectively,” he said.
Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank lost six sen to RM10.36, while Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged at RM4.80 and RM13.32, respectively. CIMB was 11 sen lower at RM7.69, and IHH Healthcare was two sen lower at RM7.69.
Among the top active counters, Zetrix AI dipped one sen to 24.5 sen, while AirAsia tumbled 13.5 sen to 50.5 sen, and Capital A was 4.5 sen lower at 23 sen. ACE Market debutant Pioneer Heat was five sen higher at 30 sen, while TWL was flat at 2.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Vitrox added 48 sen to RM9.58, Malaysian Pacific Industries gained 40 sen to RM40.10, Nestle jumped 34 sen to RM90.52, Petronas Dagangan was 30 sen higher at RM21.08, and Allianz inched up 24 sen to RM21.10.
Among the top losers, Hong Leong Bank slid 36 sen to RM23.10, Petronas Chemicals lost 34 sen to RM4.86, F&N slipped 26 sen to RM22.86, Hong Leong Financial were 22 sen lower to RM18.56, and Bursa Malaysia shed 18 sen to RM8.07.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index slipped 8.42 points to 17,607.23, the FBM Emas Index fell 29.10 points to 12,414.82, and the FBM Top 100 Index erased 25.85 points to 12,218.94.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 28.55 points to 12,273.87, while the FBM ACE Index rose 26.50 points to 5,196.45.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.54 points to 184.86, the Financial Services Index slid 111.48 points to 19,535.92, and the Energy Index lost 6.24 points to 815.14. The Plantation Index contracted by 18.92 points to 9,507.28.
The Main Market’s volume strengthened to 2.19 billion units valued at RM2.95 billion, up from 1.86 billion units worth RM2.93 billion on Tuesday.
Warrant turnover reduced to 866.66 million units worth RM108.88 million from 914.50 million units valued at RM131.79 million previously.
The ACE Market’s volume decreased to 541.67 million units valued at RM192.18 million from 564.82 million units worth RM196.93 million on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Consumer products and services counters accounted for 553.11 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (270.92 million), construction (125.52 million), technology (533.87 million), financial services (72.25 million), property (157.28 million), plantation (76.20 million), real estate investment trusts (27.40 million), closed-end fund (37,100), energy (109.91 million), healthcare (137.81 million), telecommunications and media (22.03 million), transportation and logistics (43.66 million), utilities (63.05 million), and business trusts (69,500).
-- BERNAMA