Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said despite a broad-based rally in US stocks overnight, Asian markets put in a mixed performance with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) trading lower on an extension of yesterday’s profit-taking mode.
“Today’s negative catalyst was the fall in US jobless claims that suggests the Federal Reserve will not be so eager to cut rates anytime soon as the markets think.
“Locally, there was a dearth of macro inputs to encourage any favourable momentum,” he told Bernama.
In addition to this, Apex Securities Bhd head of research Kenneth Leong said the FBM KLCI remained within a consolidation band with oil and gas as well as plantation giants retreating following the weaker commodity prices.
“Crude oil prices pulled back after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies postponed their meeting to end November,” he noted.
“Going forward, we expect the downward bias consolidation tone to extend in view of the absence of fresh domestic leads.
“Meanwhile, investors will continue to keep a close watch on the ongoing barrage of corporate earnings releases,” he said, adding that at the same time, heads will turn to Malaysia’s inflation rate data to be released tomorrow.
Technically, he said the FBM KLCI has formed another bearish candle as the key index remains within the consolidation zone.
“Immediate resistances are located at 1,464, followed by 1,480, and support at 1,446,” he added.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI slid 2.6 points to 1,453.29 from yesterday’s closing of 1,455.89.
The index opened 0.79 of-a-point better at 1,456.68 and thereafter moved between 1,451.35 and 1,456.68 throughout the trading session.
Market breadth was negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 532 to 417, while 423 counters were unchanged, 1,002 untraded, and 10 others suspended.
Turnover increased to 3.71 billion units valued at RM2.08 billion against 2.97 billion units valued at RM2.04 billion yesterday.
Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank eased one sen to RM9.09, CIMB lost three sen to RM5.74 and Petronas Chemicals dropped nine sen to RM7.16.
Tenaga added four sen to RM10.02 while Public Bank was flat at RM4.27.
Of the actives, Top Glove gained 4.5 sen to 88.5 sen, Leform improved one sen to 28.5 sen, Widad and Sarawak Consolidated edged up 0.5 sen each to 47 sen and 66 sen respectively, while Hong Seng inched down 0.5 sen to 2.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 22.38 points lower at 10,773.19, the FBMT 100 Index dipped 20.16 points to 10,434.18, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 28.34 points to 10,964.84, the FBM 70 Index dropped 35.09 points to 14,369.28, and the FBM ACE Index shed 6.74 points to 5,195.65.
Sector-wise, the financial services index slipped 13.24 points to 16,383.24, the energy index lost 13.78 points to 845.67, the industrial products and services index eased 0.71 of-a-point to 173.34 and the plantation index was 13.21 points lower at 6,947.47.
The Main Market volume rose to 2.5 billion units valued at RM1.8 billion from 1.79 billion units worth RM1.76 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover increased to 573.5 million units valued at RM75.05 million against 521.94 million units valued at RM54.5 million previously.
The ACE Market volume narrowed to 637.42 million shares worth RM210.79 million versus 646.86 million shares worth RM227.49 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 339.71 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (455.81 million); construction (88.19 million); technology (748.61 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (51.29 million); property (207.71 million); plantation (30.67 million); REITs (8.47 million), closed/fund (3,000); energy (111.33 million); healthcare (318.83 million); telecommunications and media (24.97 million); transportation and logistics (48.86 million); and utilities (60.99 million).