PETALING JAYA: Bursa Malaysia closed lower yesterday, weighed by selling pressure in telecommunication, plantation and gaming stocks.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI declined by 4.85 points to 1,537.54 from Friday’s close of 1,542.39. The benchmark index opened 2.16 points lower at 1,540.23, and moved in a tight range between 1,532.73 and 1,540.23 throughout the day.
On the broader market, losers beat gainers 587 to 476, while 456 counters were unchanged, 817 untraded and 37 others suspended. Turnover fell to 3.59 billion units worth RM2.49bil from 5.08 billion units worth RM2.69bil last Friday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI faced selling pressure as investors shifted their focus on small-cap stocks in the transportation and logistics, property and construction sectors.
“Major regional indices also ended lower as sentiment remained cautious ahead of key economic readings this week, including China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index and US inflation data,” he told Bernama.
Thong advised investors to proceed with caution and consider external factors such as increasing market risks and elevated volatility in global markets.
“We anticipate the FBM KLCI to remain in consolidation mode for the time being until fresh catalysts emerge. Consequently, we expect it to trend within the 1,530 to 1,550 range for the week, with immediate support at 1,530 and resistance at 1,560,” he added.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd added three sen to RM9.62, Public Bank Bhd was flat at RM4.24, while CIMB Group Holdings Bhd declined five sen to RM6.50, Tenaga Nasional Bhd slid six sen to RM11.50 and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd eased one sen to RM6.78.
As for the actives, Velesto Energy Bhd and TWL Holdings Bhd added half-a-sen each to 29 sen and three sen respectively, Eversendai Corp Bhd gained one sen to 34 sen, while Sapura Energy Bhd slipped half-a-sen to four sen and Alpha IVF Group Bhd shed one sen to 31 sen.