Bursa Malaysia Ends Mixed As Profit-taking Emerges Ahead of Long Weekend
By Engku Shariful Azni Engku Ab Latif
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended mixed on Thursday, as investors took profit ahead of the long weekend.
Next Monday will be a public holiday as Malaysians celebrate Merdeka Day.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 6.82 points to 1,741.72, compared with Wednesday’s close of 1,748.54.
The benchmark index opened 4.12 points higher at 1,752.66 and fluctuated between 1,739.76 and 1,752.81 throughout the day.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 612 to 596, while 568 counters were unchanged, 1,097 untraded and 124 suspended.
Turnover dropped to 3.85 billion units valued at RM3.46 billion from 4.17 billion units valued at RM4.23 billion on Wednesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said investors were staying cautious amid increasing market volatility and that he expects the benchmark index to remain in consolidation mode in the short term, although bargain-hunting activities may emerge.
“For now, holding above the 1,730 level remains crucial to preserve the market’s near-term uptrend structure and sustain investor confidence. We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,735–1,745 towards the weekend,” he told Bernama.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said profit-taking, a holiday-shortened trading week and uncertainty over the US interest rate outlook are likely to keep investors selective on Bursa Malaysia. “However, softer oil prices could provide some support to market sentiment,” he added.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank lost 10 sen to RM10.62, while Public Bank dropped 15 sen to RM5, and CIMB Group dipped one sen to RM8.07. IHH Healthcare eased eight sen to RM8.15, and Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM14.30.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI slipped 6.5 sen to 59.5 sen, Ni Hsin added two sen to 20 sen, and NationGate added 11 sen to RM1.81. JAKS Resources was flat at 12.5 sen, and Eco-Shop Marketing was one sen lower at RM1.45.
Top gainers included Hong Leong Bank, which surged 88 sen to RM23.88, while Hong Leong Financial Group jumped 40 sen to RM19.14, and Vitrox Corporation rallied 38 sen to RM9.50. Petronas Gas and Unisem put on 24 sen each to RM17.82 and RM4.51, respectively.
Among the top losers, Nestle slipped RM1 sen to RM103, Fraser & Neave shed 40 sen to RM25.90, and United Plantations dropped 24 sen to RM31.28.
Dutch Lady Milk Industries erased 22 sen to RM31.46, Kumpulan Fima lost 16 sen to RM2.69, and Sarawak Oil Palms slipped 15 sen to RM5.43.
For the broader indices, the FBM70 Index climbed 46.94 points to 18,275.16, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 29.97 points to 12,696.92.
However, the FBM Emas Index lost 23.75 points to 12,892.11, the FBM Top 100 Index fell 28.98 points to 12,701.26, and the FBM ACE Index slipped 0.73 of a point to 5,352.22.
By sector, the Energy Index ticked up 9.92 points to 785.06, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.38 points to 189.38. However, the Financial Services Index fell 82.47 points to 20,373.29, and the Plantation Index gave up 81.34 points to 9,343.21.
The Main Market volume shrank to 2.13 billion units valued at RM3.11 billion compared with 2.24 billion units valued at RM3.74 billion on Wednesday.
Warrant turnover eased to 1.20 billion units worth RM156.70 million versus 1.21 billion units worth RM185.17 million previously.
The ACE Market volume declined to 516.25 million units valued at RM198.44 million from 718.04 million units valued at RM304.41 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 401.80 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (359.70 million), construction (169.22 million), technology (543.76 million), financial services (111.14 million), property (131.36 million), plantation (36.97 million), real estate investment trusts (12.36 million), closed-end fund (161,000), energy (89.93 million), healthcare (138.00 million), telecommunications and media (18.19 million), transportation and logistics (52.44 million), utilities (72.85 million), and business trusts (199,500).
-- BERNAMA