Day: January 18, 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, Bursa Malaysia retreated from yesterday’s gains to open lower today, as mild profit-taking emerged in selected heavyweights despite the cautious sentiment in regional markets, dealers said.

At 9.15 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 3.88 points to 1,495.50 from 1,493.56 at yesterday’s close.

The market bellwether opened 4.07 points weaker at 1,495.31.

In the broader market, decliners surpassed gainers 200 to 141, while 283 counters were unchanged, 1,557 untraded, and 10 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 243.84 million units worth RM148.04 million.

In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the inflation rate in Eurozone as well as monetary policy decisions by Bank Negara Malaysia and Bank of Japan were expected to remain in focus for the remaining week.

“Meanwhile, sectors such as manufacturing, construction, plantation, and agriculture may see production activities normalising going forward after the demand for migrant workers is met under the Relaxation of Employment of Foreign Workers Plan,” it said.

Commodities-wise, it said Brent crude oil traded above US$85 per barrel while crude palm oil (CPO) price consolidated towards RM3,800 per kg.

“The technology sector may rebound in line with Wall Street Nasdaq’s slight uptrend move. Meanwhile, the Relaxation of Employment of Foreign Workers Plan should benefit sectors such as construction and plantation. Besides, the energy sector should gain traction amid rising Brent oil price,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank advanced 1.0 sen to RM8.79, Public Bank and CIMB slipped 1.0 sen each to RM4.31 and 5.76, respectively, Petronas Chemicals lost 11 sen to RM8.51, and Tenaga Nasional fell 2.0 sen to RM9.41.

As for the actives, TT Vision surged RM1.08 to RM1.42, BSL Corp declined 3.0 sen to RM1.55, Velesto Energy eased half-a-sen to 18 sen, and DNeX was flat at 58.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index reduced 26.21 points to 10,798.86, the FBMT 100 Index weakened by 25.81 points to 10,495.59, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index trimmed 37.29 points to 11,027.98.

The FBM 70 Index dropped 27.0 points to 13,439.25 and the FBM ACE Index rose 11.87 points to 5,495.11.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index fell 17.05 points to 16,529.27, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 1.21 point to 187.43, the Plantation Index ticked up 0.78 point to 6,901.06, and the Energy Index eased 3.90 points to 816.67.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, The gold futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed stronger on Wednesday with 20 lots traded, valued at RM1.53 million.

Phillip Capital Sdn Bhd dealer Jenn Yuan said COMEX gold also reversed course to trade higher as the US dollar pulled back from session highs with expectations of a slower pace of the United States Federal Reserve rate hikes supporting prices above the US$1,900 threshold.

“However, due to the lack of investment demand, we may see gold prices on a rather soft footing, and a pick-up in investment demand will be crucial to the future trajectory of gold,” he told Bernama.

He also said that investors are now looking towards the US producer price index and retail sales data due later in the day.

At the close, Bursa Malaysia’s gold futures contract for the spot month of January 2023 rose to US$1,913.0 per troy ounce, while February 2023 climbed to US$1,919.80 per troy ounce.

The March 2023 note stood at US$1,935.80 per troy ounce, while April 2023, June 2023 and August 2023 all settled at US$1,944.90 per troy ounce.

Volume stood at 20 lots while open interest registered 26 contracts.

The price of physical gold stood at US$1,913.80 per troy ounce as published by LBMA PM Fix on Jan 17, 2022.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session weaker on continued profit-taking in selected heavyweights amid the cautious sentiment on regional bourses, dealers said.

At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 6.11 points to 1,493.27 from yesterday’s closing of 1,499.38.

The market bellwether, which opened 4.07 points lower at 1,495.31, moved between 1,492.34 and 1,496.63 throughout the morning session.

Market breadth was also negative with decliners outpacing advancers 409 to 294, while 379 counters were unchanged, 1,102 untraded, and 10 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 1.53 billion units worth RM956.47 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the local benchmark index may break the 1,500 level today, as buying shifted to the banking stocks following a lacklustre performance over the past few days.

“Wall Street closed lower (last night) as the banks came in with a mixed bag of results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 392 points while the Nasdaq Composite fared slightly better, rising 16 points as the US 10-year yield inched higher to 3.55 per cent.

“Meanwhile, the report on slower economic growth in China in the last quarter (of 2022) gave investors excuse to take profit. As for the local bourse, late buying in telcos and utilities stocks saw the FBM KLCI ended higher (on Tuesday) to within a touching distance of the 1,500 mark,” he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 3.0 sen to RM8.81, Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional fell 3.0 sen each to RM4.29 and RM9.39 respectively, Petronas Chemicals shed 12 sen sen to RM8.50, and CIMB trimmed 4.0 sen to RM5.73.

As for the actives, newly-listed TT Vision soared RM1.01 to RM1.35, DNeX and Nationgate advanced 2.0 sen each to 60.5 sen and RM1.11 respectively, Velesto Energy was unchanged at 18.5 sen, while BSL Corp eased 2.5 sen to 16 sen, and Iris Corp shed 1.0 sen to 12 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index shed 34.39 points to 10,790.68, the FBMT 100 Index gave up 34.41 points to 10,486.99, the FBM Emas Shariah Index erased 41.76 points to 11,023.50, the FBM 70 Index slid 7.48 points to 13,458.77, and the FBM ACE Index declined 31.42 points to 5,451.82.

Sector-wise, the Transportation and Logistics Index slipped 4.31 points to 919.56, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.24 points to 187.40, the Financial Services Index was 25.45 points weaker at 16,520.87, and the Plantation Index dipped 38.61 points to 6,863.23.

Meanwhile the Energy Index rose 6.14 points to 826.71 and the Technology Index inched up 0.24 of-a-point to 66.88.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency