Despite that, the local bourse is expected to continue its uptrend on the back of rising investors’ confidence

BURSA Malaysia’s key index was slightly easier this morning as profit-taking started to emerge following the strong gains yesterday, with mild selling in blue chips led by Axiata Group Bhd and Maxis Bhd, while the broader market remained positive.

At 9.06am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 0.26 of-a-point to 1,501.62 from yesterday’s 1,501.88.

The market bellwether opened 0.18 of-a-point lower at 1,501.7.

There were 219 gainers and 202 losers on the broader market, while 308 counters were unchanged, 1,534 untraded and 15 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 740.72 million units worth RM220.09 million.

FBM KLCI rallied with a 4.04% hike yesterday, partly driven by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s appointment as Malaysia’s 10th prime minister.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd VP (equity research) Thong Pak Leng said buying activities are expected to continue as foreign funds would likely emerge as well, sending the index to trend in the 1,510-1,530 range today.

“Though we anticipate buying to be widespread, we reckon the focus would be on the banks and telcos, plus technology stocks that will excel amid the less aggressive interest rate hike in the US,” he told Bernama.

Rakuten has maintained its year-end FBM KLCI target at 1,580 for now as it expects valuations for the local bourse to experience some upside readjustments.

Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said following the conclusive outcome of the 15th General Election (GE15), foreign investors have turned into net buyers, snapping a six-day outflow streak and boosting the ringgit.

“We believe the local bourse will continue its uptrend amid rising investors’ confidence.

“After this GE15 event, we expect to see broad-based buying interest into government-linked companies, while traders could focus on the construction and building material segments ahead of the re-tabling of Budget 2023,” it said in a note.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd gained six sen to RM8.82, Public Bank Bhd rose eight sen to RM4.60, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd increased seven sen to RM9.13 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd added two sen to RM5.89, while IHH Healthcare Bhd slipped one sen to RM5.99 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd lost eight sen to RM8.83.

Among the actives, MMAG Holdings Bhd and Malayan United Industries Bhd were flat at three sen and 12 sen, respectively, Advance Synergy Bhd eased 1.5 sen to 24.5 sen, Infomina Bhd bagged 1.5 sen to 55 sen, while Icon Offshore Bhd added one sen to 15.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 7.97 points to 10,676.55, the FBM T100 Index gained 2.3 points to 10,395.12, the FBM ACE rose 12.1 points to 5,22.32 and the FBM 70 went up 19.44 points to 12,719.27.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index, however, fell by 35.09 points to 10,769.74.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index climbed 117.95 points to 16,884.84 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 1.07 points to 186.08, while the Plantation Index lost 19.92 points to 6,825.14 and the Energy Index trimmed 2.66 points to 761.43. — Bernama / pic TMR File