Bursa Malaysia opens lower
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 — The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) opened lower today, weighed down by Public Bank and Petronas Gas.
At 9.10am, it was 2.84 points lower at 1,669.32, after opening 1.87 points easier at 1,670.29.
Public Bank declined 18 sen to RM18.20 and Petronas Gas depreciated 30 sen to RM22.62. Both counters contributed 2.2 points to the index.
In a research note today, JF Apex Securities Bhd expects the FBM KLCI to remain pressured and subdued with the support-level at 1,645 points following the lacklustre performance of the markets in the US and Europe.
“The US markets ended lower on the last day of November after pending home sales and Chicago’s Purchasing Manager’s Index came below expectation,” it added.
Meanwhile, European stocks closed mixed amid higher oil prices and an anticipation of stimulus when the European Central Bank meets on Thursday, said JF Apex.
Among heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals added five sen to RM6.79, IHH Healthcare increased six sen to RM6.40, Maybank and TNB were flat at RM8.32 and RM13.36 respectively, while Axiata shed two sen to RM6.11.
Of the actives, 1 Utopia inched up half-a-sen to five sen, Hibiscus Petroleum gained 1.5 sen to 25 sen, while Instacom, Globaltec and Priceworth International were flat at 32 sen, 5.5 sen and 15.5 sen respectively.
On the broader market, gainers edged losers 143 to 127, with 155 counters unchanged, 1,354 untraded and 19 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 214.71 million shares worth RM43.12 million.
On the scoreboards, the FBM Emas Index weakened 12.53 points to 11,613.44, the FBMT100 Index slid 11.99 points to 11,300.25 and the FBM Emas Syariah Index rose 15.73 points to 12,522.6.
The FBM 70 edged upward 3.44 points at 12,881.18 and the FBM Ace improved 6.75 points to 6,550.14.
On a sectoral basis, the Finance Index was down 37.27 points to 14,063.55, the Plantation Index eased 39.98 points for 7,556.72 and the Industrial Index trimmed 13.02 points to 3,274.26. — Bernama
