KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed mixed yesterday, reflecting the indecision of traders following US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen’s hint of interest rate increases and US President Donald Trump’s tax reform promise.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.89-of-point higher at 1709.79 after fluctuating between 1,707.24 and 1,713.47 throughout the day.
The FBM KLCI opened 0.81 of-a-point lower at 1,708.09.
Market breadth was negative with losers outpacing gainers 469 to 418, 371 counters unchanged, 455 untraded and 23 others suspended.
Volume, however, was higher at 2.3 billion shares valued at RM2.56 billion from 2.18 billion shares worth RM2.56 billion on Tuesday. In a note yesterday, Hong Leong Investment Bank Research said investors extended their optimism in US stocks after Yellen reiterated her views on the pace of interest rate increases.
In testimony before the US Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, she signalled that the next interest rate hike could come as soon as March.
However, on the local bourse, the research house said market tone remained positive but cautious, ahead of further revelations of Trump’s policies.
“Cautious sentiment escalated when the FBM KLCI headed towards the overbought region of around 1,720-1,730, with traders looking for opportunities to take profit,” it said.
The FBM Emas Index gained 8.71 points to 12,037.56, the FBMT 100 Index added 6.25 points to 11,716.30 and the FBM 70 improved 8.02 points to 13,891.92. However, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 2.92 points to 12,550.03 and the FBM Ace Index was 6.43 points weaker at 5,295.16.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Index eased 3.14 points to 3,273.99 and the Plantation Index fell 43.04 points to 8,201.19.But, the Finance Index improved 9.64 points to 15,124.18.
Among heavyweights, Maybank bagged five sen to RM8.37, Tenaga inched up four sen to RM13.56, Sime Darby lost 11 sen to RM9.10, while Public Bank remained unchanged at RM20.22.
As for actives, Nexgram bagged half-a-sen to 4.5 sen, Hibiscus Petroleum eased 1.5 sen to 51.5 sen, while Metronic Global and Sterling Progress each remained flat at 9.5 sen and 21.5 sen respectively.
Main Market turnover increased to 1.61 billion shares worth 2.44 billion from 1.55 billion shares valued at RM2.44 billion on Tuesday.
The ACE Market slid to 445.58 million shares worth RM87.82 million from 454.88 million shares worth RM97.39 million.
Warrants improved to 235.48 million units worth RM27.42 million from 155.30 million units worth RM21.89 million.
Consumer products accounted for 138.76 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products (371.51 million), construction (116 million), trade and services (632.80 million), technology (43.59 million), infrastructure (12.89 million), SPAC (1.87 million), finance (71.51 million), hotels (460,400), properties (172.15 million), plantations (34.56 million), mining (46,000), REITs (14.48 million), and closed/fund (21,000).
For more information on stocks and prices, please visit www.bursamalaysia.com.