BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS LOWER ON MILD PROFIT-TAKING

KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, extending the profit-taking activities from Wednesday.

At 9.11 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) erased 7.45 points to 1,592.34, down from Wednesday’s close of 1,599.79, falling below the key 1,600 level.

The benchmark index opened 3.52 points lower at 1,596.27.

On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 280 to 173, with 326 counters unchanged, 1,633 untraded and five others suspended.

Turnover totalled 422.43 million units valued at RM150.26 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI continued its consolidation, dipping below the psychological 1,600 level as profit-taking persisted.

“We are surprised by the lack of buying interest on the local bourse of late but expect some bargain hunting now that the index is below the 1,600 mark. 

"We believe the market undertone is still positive and expect the index to trend between the 1,600-1,610 range today, with interests possibly in bank and telecommunications counters,” Thong told Bernama.

Thong noted that Wall Street was closed for trading yesterday. 

However, futures of the three major indices showed the Dow Jones Industrial Average in negative territory, while both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 made marginal gains.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index surged past the 18,000 mark, buoyed by China’s unveiling of more stimulus measures, primarily aimed at reforming the technology board to improve listing quality and promote technological innovation.

On the local bourse, heavyweights showed mixed performance. AMMB (AmBank) slid 4.0 sen to RM4.15, YTL Corporation eased 6.0 sen to RM3.52, Petronas Gas (PetGas) fell 30 sen to RM17.56, Tenaga Nasional declined 10 sen to RM13.76, and Axiata Group was 4.0 sen lower at RM2.68.

Among the top losers, Nestle dipped 80 sen to RM123.20, followed by PetGas. Kuala Lumpur Kepong depreciated 16 sen to RM20.14, while Sam Engineering & Equipment was 10 sen lower at RM6.40.

Most active counters included Ingenieur Gudang, which was flat at 7.0 sen, Jaks Resources, which gained 1.0 sen to 20 sen, LBS Bina Group, which dropped 9.0 sen to 80 sen, Vinvest Capital, which eased half a sen to 8.5 sen, and EP Manufacturing, which rose 6.5 sen to 84.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 46.92 points to 12,245.12, the FBMT 100 Index gave up 46.51 points to 11,820.99, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 44.74 points to 12,590.13. 

The FBM 70 Index decreased 35.08 points to 17,896.00, and the FBM ACE Index dived 23.33 points to 5,772.87.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dropped 55.45 points to 17,421.60, the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 0.10 points to 197.50, the Energy Index trimmed 1.18 points to 982.20, and the Plantation Index rose 3.24 points to 7,006.41.

-- BERNAMA