KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 (NNN-Bernama) — Bursa Malaysia, the stock exchange of Malaysia, opened lower Wednesday as investors remained cautious ahead of the wrap up of the United States Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which will determine the year’s final interest rate policy decision.
At 9.20 am, the barometer index lost 2.69 points to 1,444.43 versus Tuesday’s closing of 1,447.12.
The FBM KLCI opened 1.04 points easier at 1,446.08.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 191 to 175, while 288 counters were unchanged, 1,669 untraded and 21 suspended.
Turnover amounted to 383.34 million units worth RM158.50 million (US$1=RM4.699).
Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI ended flat as accumulation activities helped lift the index amid a lacklustre session.
“Though we noticed bargain hunting is prevalent, overall sentiment remains cautious coupled with a neutral reaction towards the latest Cabinet reshuffle.
“For today, we reckon the index to scale higher within the 1,445-1,455 range,” he added.
Thong said he hoped Bursa Malaysia would continue with the late-buying support trend observed in recent days to continue lifting the stock market.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM9.07, Public Bank erased one sen at RM4.24, CIMB reduced two sen at RM5.77 and Tenaga Nasional was five sen lower at RM9.88.
Other losers among the heavyweights were CelcomDigi which lost three sen to RM4.07, Sime Darby Plantations which was down five sen at RM4.44, Nestle which shed RM1.20 to RM116.50 and Maxis which saw its shares shed two sen to RM3.81.
Of the actives, Sarawak Cable accumulated six sen at 27 sen, Bina Puri earned half-a-sen at nine sen, Handal Energy was flat at 13 sen and Velesto was one sen lower at 21.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was down 10.07 points to 10,672.01, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 9.65 points to 10,339.90, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 11.79 points to 10,763.02, and the FBM ACE Index fell 13.49 points to 5,117.54; but the FBM 70 Index added 28.77 points to 14,106.95.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index lost 15.28 points to 16,360.99, the Plantation Index was 23.0 points easier at 6,950.58 and the Energy Index lost 5.63 points to 789.84.
On the other hand, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.17 of-a-point to 170.27.
— NNN-BERNAMA
