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FBM KLCI mixed in early trade on profit taking

KUALA LUMPUR: 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 and Maxis, while the broader market remained positive.

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

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 per cent hike yesterday, partly driven by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's appointment as Malaysia's 10th Prime Minister.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of 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 United States," 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, Maybank gained six sen to RM8.82, Public Bank rose eight sen to RM4.60, Petronas Chemicals increased seven sen to RM9.13 and CIMB added two sen to RM5.89, while IHH Healthcare slipped one sen to RM5.99 and Tenaga lost eight sen to RM8.83.

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

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 7.97 points to 10,676.55, the FBMT 100 Index gained 2.3 points to 10,395.12, the FBM ACE rose 12.1 points to 5,223.2, 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. 

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