Lockdown concerns drag Bursa Malaysia down in early trade

Bursa Malaysia opened lower this morning, reversing its gains yesterday as concerns over the possible lockdown in several states weighed on investors’ sentiment, dealers said.

At 9.06am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) lost 5.46 points to 1,597.49 after opening one point easier at 1,601.95, compared with yesterday’s close of 1,602.95.

On the broader market, losers edged past gainers 238 to 191, while 304 counters were unchanged, 1,351 untraded and 13 others suspended.

Volume stood at 255.42 million units worth RM149.35 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee Shen Pin said after the strong closing on the Wall Street overnight, regional markets would likely trend higher today as foreign funds are flowing into emerging markets.

Domestically, the FBM KLCI ― which saw rather strong buying support yesterday to climb back above the 1,600 threshold ― would continue to rise, potentially testing the 1,610 level today, he said.

“Nonetheless, investors are still wary of the government’s stance; as a possible lockdown may curtail further advancement,” he said in a note.

Meanwhile, as crude oil prices continued to recover with the benchmark Brent hovering above US$54 per barrel, the oil and gas stocks might be ripe for some trading interests, Yee added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank trimmed eight sen to RM8.20, Public Bank fell 14 sen to RM20.26, Tenaga and IHH Healthcare gave up 10 sen each to RM10.42 and RM5.60, respectively, Petronas Chemicals slipped one sen to RM7.04, while Top Glove bagged eight sen to RM5.88.

Of the actives, DGB, Nexgram and AT Systematization inched up half-a-sen each to 28 sen, five sen and 18.5 sen, respectively, CHI shed half-a-sen to 12 sen, while PUC was flat at 14.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 32.43 points lower at 11,479.03, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 36.21 points to 11,225.03, the FBM 70 decreased 38.26 points to 14,518.17, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 8.79 points to 12,919.09

However, the FBM ACE gained 13.04 points to 10,554.01.

Meanwhile, the Financial Services Index shed 87.54 points to 14,880.45, the Plantation Index lost 44.29 points to 7,375.75, while the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.03 of-a-point to 171.84. Bernama

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