BURSA MALAYSIA STAGES MILD PULLBACK, CI DOWN 0.37 PCT

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s key index staged a modest pullback to end lower today, sparked by the downbeat performance on Wall Street overnight which spilled over into regional markets.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 5.96 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 1,615.18 from Wednesday's close of 1,621.14.

The FBM KLCI opened 4.06 points lower at 1,617.08 and moved in a narrow range between 1,610.58 and 1,618.00 throughout the day.

On the broader market, losers thumped gainers 954 to 255, with 465 counters unchanged, 814 untraded, and 17 others suspended.

Turnover improved to 4.55 billion units worth RM3.11 billion from Wednesday's 4.39 billion units worth RM2.80 billion.

Apex Securities Bhd head of research Kenneth Leong said that the FBM KLCI took another step back, 'spooked' by the renewed volatility on Wall Street overnight.

"Half of the key index components closed in the red, with selected utilities and telco giants underperforming. The weakness was also largely in tandem with the negative performance across regional markets," he told Bernama.

Looking ahead, he expects consolidation may take place as cautiousness persists ahead of the release of the United States gross domestic product advance estimate on Thursday, as well as the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index and the consumer sentiment data report on Friday. 

"These data releases may provide guidance on the timing of potential interest rate cuts. For now, any potential gains are expected to be capped amid the absence of fresh catalysts.

"Technically, the FBM KLCI has formed another bearish candle as the key index took another step back towards the 1,600 level today," he said.

He maintains a downward bias projection for the FBM KLCI as the key index looks to trend towards the near-term support of 1,600, with resistance at 1,640.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 2.0 sen to RM10.14, Public Bank increased 3.0 sen to RM4.21, and IHH Healthcare rose 1.0 sen to RM6.26.

Meanwhile, CIMB Group eased 1.0 sen to RM7.19, and Tenaga Nasional fell 40.0 sen to RM14.00.

Among the actives, Zentech International added half-a-sen to 1.5 sen, Ahmad Zaki Resources gained 2.0 sen to 33 sen, while OCR Group slid half-a-sen to 10 sen, Ekovest shed 2.5 sen to 46.5 sen, and Hubline was flat at 13 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index tumbled 82.04 points to 12,465.78, the FBMT 100 Index declined 73.02 points to 12,052.64, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 137.18 points to 12,739.70, the FBM 70 Index shrank 216.04 points to 18,478.35, and the FBM ACE Index decreased 46.00 points to 5,810.86.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index decreased by 21.68 points to 7,150.96, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 1.52 points to 191.79, the Energy Index eased by 7.74 points to 958.13, while the Financial Services Index rose by 32.96 points to 17,983.26.

The Main Market volume fell slightly to 2.27 billion units valued at RM2.70 billion from 2.28 billion units valued at RM2.42 billion on Wednesday.

Warrants turnover expanded to 1.35 billion units worth RM151.63 million from 1.27 billion units worth RM161.45 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume swelled to 914.78 million shares valued at RM259.84 million from 840.80 million shares valued at RM221.89 million previously.  

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 363.81 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (450.25 million), construction (381.78 million), technology (271.30 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (51.77 million), property (279.66 million), plantation (37.60 million), REITs (21.85 million), closed/fund (6,000), energy (143.16 million), healthcare (61.60 million), telecommunications and media (34.27 million), transportation and logistics (113.87 million), utilities (65.29 million), and business trusts (562,500).

-- BERNAMA