Bursa lower in early trade

KUALA LUMPUR (May 21): Bursa Malaysia extended its weakness in early trade today on concerns over a potentially stricter lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 infections.

At 9.11am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had eased 4.48 points to 1,570.84 from yesterday’s close at 1,575.32.

The index opened 5.89 points easier at 1,569.43.

On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 363 to 187, while 281 counters were unchanged, 1,381 untraded and 18 others suspended.

Total volume stood at 574.6 million worth RM275.39 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said mild bargain hunting might emerge, but noted that the overall market sentiment remains cautious as investors await the National Security Council’s decision on the potentially full implementation of the movement control order (MCO) in a meeting today.

As for commodities, the research house said that both crude palm oil and oil had staged a pullback following the recent rally.

“Investors may opt for stocks with high earnings certainty amid the earnings season, such as the packaging and essential consumer-related sector.

“Bargain hunting may also emerge in technology stocks following overnight gains on Nasdaq,” said Malacca Securities in a research note today.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) added three sen to RM8.30, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) gained one sen to RM9.91, IHH Healthcare Bhd jumped 11 sen to RM5.39, Top Glove Corp Bhd rose two sen to RM5.39, Public Bank Bhd fell four sen to RM4.16, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) trimmed 16 sen to RM7.78 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd slid five sen to RM4.20.

Of the actives, Tanco Holdings Bhd edged up half a sen to 15 sen, Sedania Innovator Bhd jumped 16.5 sen to 77 sen, LKL International Bhd was two sen higher at 41.5 sen, Focus Dynamics Group Bhd and Talam Transform Bhd were flat at six sen and 2.5 sen respectively, while EKA Noodles Bhd slid 4.5 sen to one sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slipped 37.34 points to 11,378.13, while the FBMT 100 Index discounted 30.4 points to 11,092.56.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 35.87 points to 12,670.74, the FBM ACE increased 11.15 points to 7,613.27, and the FBM 70 fell 35.09 points to 14,560.14.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index went down 12 points to 6,906.31, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 2.4 points to 185.43, and the Financial Services Index weakened by 12.7 points to 14,862.96.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets