KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 15): The FBM KLCI finished 8.70 points or 0.53% lower at 1,627.01, dragged mainly by profit taking on banking counters.

The index earlier rose to a high of 1,637.88.

Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer (CEO) Danny Wong told theedgemarkets.com that the local market will continue to be volatile as investor sentiment remained weak amid the reimposition of the movement control order (MCO 2.0).

“The market today was mainly dragged by banks. Investors were worried that the [recent] increase in Covid-19 cases might delay the economic recovery,” he said.  

Meanwhile, TA Securities said in a note today the local market should have stayed range-bound ahead of the weekend as mildly overbought condition after recent gains encouraged profit taking, and as caution prevailed due to the local Covid-19 situation.

Immediate resistance for the index remains at 1,660, with the next hurdle at 1,680 and tougher resistance at the 21-month peak of 1,695, while support levels are seen at the recent intraday lows of 1,617 and 1,590.

Across Bursa Malaysia today, 5.85 billion securities were traded for RM4.06 billion, compared with 6.49 billion securities worth RM4.86 billion yesterday.

Losers outpaced gainers by 571 to 512, while 480 counters were unchanged.

Index-linked banking stocks saw some profit taking amid talk of possible rate cuts. Public Bank Bhd fell 50 sen or 2.3% to RM21.20, making it the top loser today.

Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG) slipped 18 sen or 1.04% to RM17.16, while Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) shed 10 sen or 1.2% to RM8.25.

The top gainers were led by Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, which surged 74 sen or 2.64% to RM29.72. This was followed by Kobay Technology Bhd, which gained 70 sen or 19.18% to RM4.35, while Nestlé (Malaysia) Bhd climbed 70 sen or 0.51% to RM138.90.

PRG Holdings Bhd, which saw 425.18 million shares change hands, was the most actively traded stock today. The counter soared 5.5 sen or 23.91% to 28.5 sen.

Bloomberg reported that Asian stocks retreated today as investors scrutinised US President-elect Joe Biden’s much-anticipated US$1.9 trillion (RM7.67 trillion) Covid-19 relief plan.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.62% lower at 28,519.18, while South Korea’s KOSPI ended 2.03% lower at 3,085.9.