Bursa Malaysia closed lower amid mixed sentiment in regional bourses following a heavy global selldown, a dealer said.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 11.25 points or 0.79% to 1,421.83 from last Friday’s close of 1,433.08.
The key index opened 13.66 points lower at 1,419.42 and moved between 1,409.93 and 1,423.66 throughout the trading session.
Market breadth was negative with losers outpacing gainers 702 to 254 while 340 counters were unchanged, 939 untraded and 23 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 3.50 billion units worth RM2.15 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the key regional markets were mixed as investors were concerned that the potential fallout from the implosions of Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Capital could trigger a wider sell-off in the global financial sector.
“Back home, we believe the selldown seems unjustified as the Malaysian banking system is highly regulated, whereby asset quality risks are well contained.
“At current valuations, the FBM KLCI is in an oversold position, hence we reckon bargain-hunting activities may occur anytime soon,” he told Bernama.
Thong also anticipated that the short-term market sentiment would remain jittery amid the uncertain global and regional performance.
He expects the FBM KLCI to trend higher within the 1,420 to 1,440 range for the week.
Bursa Malaysia heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd rose four sen to RM8.44, Public Bank Bhd eased one sen to RM4.01, CelcomDigi Bhd dipped one sen to RM4.12, Tenaga Nasional Bhd fell six sen to RM9.32, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd gained 10 sen to RM7.10, and IHH Healthcare Bhd climbed 10 sen to RM5.97.
Among the actives, Sapura Energy Bhd added half-a-sen to five sen, MyEG Services Bhd perked up four sen to 77.5 sen and AwanBiru Technology Bhd edged up by 2.5 sen to 47 sen, while BSL Corp Bhd shaved off 7.5 sen to six sen and Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd inched down half-a-sen to 14.5 sen.
