Bursa Malaysia Ends Lower On Rising Oil Prices, Elevated Bond Yields
By Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower on Thursday, weighed down by moderate selling pressure interspersed with buying activity as renewed hikes in oil prices and elevated global bond yields dampened investor sentiment, said an analyst.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 4.12 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 1,672.31, from Wednesday’s close of 1,676.43.
The benchmark index, which opened 1.98 points lower at 1,674.45, moved between 1,671.48 and 1,679.47 during the day.
Market breadth was also negative, with losers outpacing gainers 677 to 436, while 542 counters were unchanged, 1,246 untraded and 27 suspended.
Turnover widened to 3.32 billion units worth RM2.74 billion from 3.20 billion units valued at RM2.99 billion on Wednesday.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said benchmark Brent crude futures for November jumped as much as 3.3 per cent to US$106.50 per barrel before paring some gains.
He said the rise in oil prices added to concerns that higher energy costs could reinforce inflationary pressures and keep interest rates higher for longer.
“Regionally, equities also came under pressure as bond yields remained near two-decade highs, weighing on equity valuations,” he said.
For Bursa Malaysia, Mohd Sedek said, the combination of higher oil prices, elevated yields and persistent foreign selling is likely to keep risk appetite cautious, while investors may continue to favour defensive and commodity-linked sectors.
At the time of writing, Brent crude oil climbed 2.45 per cent to US$105.54 per barrel.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell two sen to RM10.12, Public Bank eased one sen to RM4.82, and Tenaga Nasional slid eight sen to RM13.06, while CIMB put on three sen to RM7.96 and IHH Healthcare added six sen to RM8.06.
Of the most actively traded counters, Zetrix AI improved half a sen to 19 sen, Aimax remained unchanged at one sen, and NexG rose 5.5 sen to 32 sen, while V.S Industry shed 1.5 sen to 23.5 sen and Sunway Healthcare lost six sen to RM2.07.
Nestle led the top gainers list, advancing RM1.96 to RM91.46, while Ajinomoto firmed 38 sen to RM19.64, Pekat perked 24 sen to RM2.64, Northern Solar climbed 16 sen to RM1.18, and MISC surged 15 sen to RM7.92.
As for the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries trimmed RM1.08 to RM43.50, Batu Kawan declined 54 sen to RM20, MI Technovation gave up 32 sen to RM5.81, Unisem slipped 24 sen to RM4.50 and Pentamaster reduced 23 sen to RM5.18.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index fell 78.99 points to 17,754.81, the FBM Emas Index declined 36.08 points to 12,441.27, the FBM Top 100 Index eased 36.35 points to 12,231.25, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 28.50 points to 12,291.72; but the FBM ACE Index rose 9.92 points to 5,437.33.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 0.61 of a point to 184.34, the Plantation Index edged down 18.52 points to 9,391.28 and the Financial Services Index declined 22.91 points to 19,554.87, while the Energy Index ticked up 9.98 points to 860.43.
Main Market volume grew to 2.09 billion units worth RM2.42 billion from 1.95 billion units valued at RM2.67 billion on Wednesday.
Warrant turnover decreased to 764.97 million units worth RM115.91 million from 788.71 million units valued at RM114.81 million previously.
ACE Market volume rose to 463.98 million units valued at RM210.23 million from 461.73 million units worth RM199.84 million yesterday.
Meanwhile, consumer products and services counters accounted for 187.27 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (330.10 million), construction (111.78 million), technology (851.51 million), financial services (59.18 million), property (116.08 million), plantation (64.81 million), real estate investment trusts (22.76 million), closed-end fund (5,100), energy (103.59 million), healthcare (140.78 million), telecommunications and media (22.30 million), transportation and logistics (38.79 million), utilities (45.95 million), and business trusts (39,000).
-- BERNAMA