KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia drifted lower yesterday, snapping a three-day winning streak, taking cues from the negative developments on Wall Street overnight, says an analyst.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI shed 10.98 points, or 0.70%, to 1,537.01 from Tuesday’s close of 1,547.99. The benchmark index opened 0.70 of-a-point easier at 1,547.29 and moved between 1,537.01 and 1,548.42 throughout the trading session.
On the broader market, decliners beat gainers 593 to 480, with 487 counters unchanged, 734 untraded, and 13 others suspended.
Turnover widened to 4.26 billion units worth RM2.87bil compared with 4.15 billion units valued at RM2.81bil on Tuesday.
Apex Securities Bhd head of research Kenneth Leong said the weakness also came in due to profit-taking activities following the past sessions of gains as weakness was evident in the majority of the banking heavyweights.
“We expect choppiness to prevail amid the absence of fresh leads, while investors will be focusing on the US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s speech later tonight (last night).
“Any hawkish remarks over the prospects of an interest rate cut may continue to dampen sentiment and vice versa,” he told Bernama.
Leong said that technically, the FBM KLCI has formed a bearish candle to wipe out all its previous session gains.