At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.17% or 2.54 points easier to 1,432.36 from Monday’s close of 1,434.90.
The benchmark index opened 0.57 of a point higher at 1,435.47 and moved between 1,429.59 and 1,435.47 throughout the trading session.
The market breadth was broadly negative as decliners outpaced gainers 527 to 330, while 390 counters were unchanged, 1,033 untraded, and 12 others suspended.
Turnover narrowed to 3.17 billion units worth RM1.85 billion from 3.25 billion units valued at RM1.89 billion on Monday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said China’s equities however closed higher after the country released better-than-expected economic data.
The world’s second-largest economy grew 4.5% year-on-year for the first quarter, beating most economists’ expectations.
“As for the local bourse, we believe today’s selldown provides an opportunity for investors to accumulate at a lower level.
“We expect the outlook of the local equity market to remain positive due to undemanding valuations and improving economic conditions,” he told Bernama.
As such, Thong reckons bargain hunting would emerge anytime soon and foresees the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,430-1,445 for the remainder of the week.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank, Petronas Chemicals, and IHH were flat at RM8.70, RM7.40 and RM5.88 respectively. Public Bank added 1 sen to RM3.98, while CIMB Bank was down by 1 sen to RM5.25, Tenaga Nasional lost 18 sen to RM9.00 and CelcomDigi gained 5 sen to RM4.46.
Among the actives, Dataprep and Hong Seng fell 1 sen each to 22 sen and 13 sen, SMRT rose 1 sen to 65.5 sen and Computer Forms added 1.5 sen to 24.5 sen while Jade Marvel was flat at 30 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index weakened 23.27 points to 10,540.48, the FBMT 100 Index lost 21.17 points to 10,222.20 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 34.27 points to 10,889.89.
The FBM ACE Index was 20.39 points higher at 5,389.71 and the FBM 70 Index slid 41.22 points to 13,817.07.
Sector-wise, the industrial products and services index eased by 0.77 of a point to 174.39 while the plantation index gained 64.64 points to 6,884.64.
The financial services index declined 34.12 points to 15,731.47 and the energy index fell 11.00 points to 867.19.
The Main Market volume narrowed to 2.08 billion units valued at RM1.51 billion from 2.13 billion units worth RM1.55 billion on Monday.
Warrants turnover dropped to 277.52 million units worth RM45.34 million against 403.87 million units valued at RM66.38 million previously.
The ACE Market volume widened to 804.49 million shares worth RM288.37 million versus 712.71 million shares worth RM273.92 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 281.25 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (539.97 million); construction (62.04 million); technology (485.45 million); SPAC (nil), financial services (50.01 million); property (177.77 million); plantation (25.53 million); REITs (7.06 million), closed/fund (27,000); energy (73.30 million); healthcare (152.12 million); telecommunications and media (113.76 million); transportation and logistics (48.89 million); and utilities (70.07 million).
Meanwhile, Bursa and its subsidiaries will be closed on Friday (April 21) and Monday (April 24) in conjunction with the additional Hari Raya Aidilfitri holiday announced by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“Bursa will remain open for full day trading on Thursday, April 20, as normal,” it said in a statement today.
The exchange and its subsidiaries will resume business next Tuesday.