Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd research head Kenny Yee said the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) improved earlier in the day on buying support from local institutions after Google announced plans to invest RM9.4 billion in Malaysia.
“The key index was hovering above the 1,600 level today after buying interest interspersed with selling activities amid the weakness in regional markets,” he told Bernama.
Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 1.30% to 38,054.13, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 1.34% to 18,230.19, South Korea’s Kospi shed 1.56% to 2,635.44, and Shanghai’s SSE Composite Index down 0.62% to 3,091.68.
Yee said traders are awaiting major announcements in the US, namely the gross domestic product later tonight and the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data, scheduled to be released on Friday.
Meanwhile, in a posting on X today, Bursa said that Malaysia’s benchmark index has outperformed its regional peers since the beginning of the year, which is 4.4 percentage points higher than the second-highest index.
It said other than price performance, the FBM KLCI also recorded among the highest dividend yields.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI slipped 1.09 points, or 0.06%, to 1,604.26 from yesterday’s close of 1,605.35.
The benchmark index, which opened 2.14 points lower at 1,603.21, fluctuated between 1,602.32 and 1,608.84 throughout the trading session.
On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 620 to 577, with 473 counters unchanged, 743 untraded, and 95 others suspended.
Turnover expanded to 5.33 billion units worth RM3.99 billion from yesterday’s 4.73 billion units worth RM3.68 billion.
Among the heavyweights, Public Bank, Maybank, and IHH Healthcare were all flat at RM4.08, RM9.90, and RM6.19 respectively, while Tenaga Nasional and Petronas Chemicals eased 2 sen each to RM13.18 and RM6.71, respectively.
Among the actives, Kawan Renergy surged 15 sen to 61.5 sen, MyEG Services added 2 sen to RM1.06, Epicon was 3 sen higher at 34.5 sen, WCT Holdings bagged 5.5 sen to 60 sen, while Lagenda Properties dipped 5 sen to RM1.12.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index lost 7.83 points to 12,236.71, the FBMT 100 Index decreased by 9.86 points to 11,835.52, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 2.04 points to 12,480.61, the FBM ACE Index climbed 10.02 points to 5,449.92, and the FBM 70 Index slipped 22.27 points 17,619.89.
Sector-wise, the financial services index shaved off 4.18 points to 17,494.21, the industrial products and services index inched up 1.04 points to 195.38, the plantation index added 5.41 points to 7,149.63, while the energy index slid 6.90 points to 986.99.
The Main Market volume advanced to 2.99 billion units worth RM3.46 billion from 2.73 billion units worth RM3.2 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover swelled to 1.4 billion units valued at RM188.18 million from 1.01 billion units valued at RM142.96 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume dwindled to 927.45 million shares worth RM341.05 million from 990.48 million shares worth RM344.36 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 570.58 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (344.91 million), construction (284.8 million), technology (411.12 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (115.29 million), property (700.23 million), plantation (26.34 million), REITs (21.17 million), closed/fund (54,200), energy (175.24 million), healthcare (91.18 million), telecommunications and media (47.57 million), transportation and logistics (97.31 million), utilities (110.23 million), and business trusts (868,900).
In another statement, Bursa said the exchange and its subsidiaries will be closed on June 3, 2024, in conjunction with the birthday of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, king of Malaysia.
Bursa and its subsidiaries will resume operations on June 4, 2024.