Bursa Malaysia Eases In Early Trade On Profit-taking

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia eased in early trade on Monday as profit-taking activities persisted, emerging amid thinner participation ahead of the extended holiday period.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched down 0.89 of-a-point, or 0.05 per cent to 1,738.65 compared with Friday’s close of 1,739.54.

The benchmark index had opened 1.12 points higher at 1,740.66.

The broader market was slightly negative with losers thumping gainers 164 to139, while 320 counters were unchanged. A total of 2,114 counters remained untraded, and 11 were suspended.

Market turnover stood at 234.46 million shares worth RM75.01 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said that after the recent strong advance, the market may continue to consolidate, especially with thinner participation during the holiday period.

“Selective profit-taking in blue chips could continue as investors reassess positions. We anticipate the index to hover between 1,730 and 1,745 today,” he told Bernama.

Thong also said Wall Street ended on a mixed note after a volatile session last Friday as investors assessed the United States January’s softer than expected inflation data for clues on the future direction of interest rates.

“Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was also lower, dragged down by weakness in tech stocks amid the global uncertainty and valuation concerns,” he said.

Among index heavyweights, Maybank lost four sen to RM12.02, Public Bank was flat at RM5.04, CIMB eased two sen to RM8.44, while Tenaga Nasional rose six sen to RM14.02, and IHH gained one sen to RM8.84.

On the most active list, Hong Seng, Zen Tech and TWL were all flat at half sen, half sen and 2.5 sen respectively. Tanco gained two sen to RM1.43 and Artroniq inched up 1.5 sen to 17 sen.

Besides Tenaga Nasional, other top gainers included MNRB, which added 24 sen to RM2.70, Chin Teck Plantations advanced 16 sen to RM10.60, Fraser and Neave bagged 10 sen to RM33 and Petronas Gas garnered eight sen to RM18.30.

Among the top losers decliners, 99 Speed Mart and VSTECS both dropped 14 sen to RM3.81 and RM4.06. Kein Hing International lost nine sen to RM1.16, United Plantations fell eight sen to RM30.10, and Hextar Technologies reduced five sen to RM1.12.

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index decreased 9.84 points to 12,554.97, the FBM Emas Index lost 4.38 points to 12,733.82, the FBM Mid 70 Index declined 29.13 points to 17,540.54, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index recovered 5.95 points to 12,227.96, and the FBM ACE Index inched up 0.50 of a point to 4,741.55.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slipped 27.27 points to 21,496.61, the Plantation Index edged down 4.49 points to 8,372.44, while the Energy Index gained 2.00 points to 753.10, while the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.10 points higher at 175.18.

-- BERNAMA