KUALA LUMPUR (June 9): The FBM KLCI dipped 0.42% at the midday break today in line with the subdued regional markets while the ringgit was down 0.21% versus the greenback at 3.7640.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 7.22 points to 1,732.23.
Market breadth was negative with 494 losers and 178 gainers, while 273 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 680.15 million shares traded valued at RM622.04 million.
The top losers included Golden Land Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Sasbadi Holdings Bhd, Amway (M) Holdings Bhd, Tasek Corporation Bhd, Maxis Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd.
The actively traded counters included Doldphin International Bhd, Kanger International Bhd, APFT Bhd, IFCA MSC Bhd, Frontken Corporation Bhd, K-One Technology Bhd, Tiger Synergy Bhd and Pasukhas Group Bhd.
The top gainers included Globetronics Technology Bhd, Negri Sembilan Oil Palms Bhd, Harbour-Link Group Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd, NCB Holdings Bhd, Only World Group Holdings Bhd, United Malacca Bhd and Nestle (M) Bhd.
Asia shares were subdued on Tuesday while the dollar relapsed as investors raced to book profits on its post-payroll gains despite all the talk of a US rate rise as early as September, according to Reuters.
China reported another soft reading on inflation as the consumer price index slipped 0.2% in May, from the month before, to be up 1.2% on the year, it said.
BIMB Securities Research said that most major Asian bourses suffered from bouts of foreign selling yesterday, particularly those within the SEA region.
Locally, it said the FBM KLCI sheds 5.88 points at 1,739.45, attributed to persistent foreign selling which saw another RM124.6 million flown out yesterday.
“We can expect prevailing weakness on equity markets to persist so long the Feds remain sidelined on their rates decision as investors and traders would seek to re-align their strategies for now.
“We would expect the local bourse to remain weak from the lack of catalyst and see the index to hover on a narrow band of 1,740/1,745 range today,” it said.