KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): Bursa Malaysia retreated from Monday’s gains to end lower ton Tuesday (Jan 10) due to profit-taking amid the jittery performance of the regional markets, as investors were cautious ahead of the speech by US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, scheduled for Tuesday, said a dealer.

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) decreased 8.29 points or 0.55% to 1,485.13 from Monday's close of 1,493.42.   

The market bellwether opened 3.02 points weaker at 1,490.40 and moved between 1,480.37 and 1,491.22 throughout the trading day. 

Market breadth was also negative, with decliners outpacing advancers 472 to 368, while 436 counters were unchanged, 935 untraded, and 20 others suspended.

Turnover increased marginally to 3.19 billion units worth RM1.91 billion, against Monday's 3.18 billion units worth RM1.92 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said despite some profit-taking on the domestic front, the outlook is expected to remain positive due to attractive valuations and continuous support from local institutions.

“We view the profit-taking today as a good opportunity to bargain hunt for stocks at lower levels,” he told Bernama.

Thong said investors are likely to remain upbeat on China’s reopening, as it would inject some excitement into the regional economy including Malaysia.

“Hence, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to move higher within the 1,480-1,500 range for the remainder of the week,” he added. 

Region-wise, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shed 0.27% to 21,331.46, China’s SSE Composite Index fell 0.21% to 3,169.51, Singapore’s Straits Times Index slid 1.29% to 3,262.91, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.78% to 26,175.56, and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.05% to 2,351.31.

Among heavyweights, MISC lost 19 sen to RM7.30, Axiata declined seven sen to RM2.90, Inari Amertron slid 16 sen to RM2.64, Digi.com fell four sen to RM3.98, and Nestle shrank RM2 to RM137.50.

As for the actives, L&P Global improved one sen to 58 sen, Cypark added 4.5 sen to 70 sen, Berjaya Corporation increased two sen to 35 sen, Tanco ticked up four sen to 38.5 sen, while Top Glove fell two sen to 85 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 43.67 points to 10,692.60, the FBMT 100 Index slid 47.43 points to 10,395.62, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 68.34 points to 10,893.34.

The FBM 70 Index was 14.33 points weaker at 13,193.84 and the FBM ACE Index inched down 61.34 points to 5,376.83.   

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index trimmed by 42.13 points to 16,480.33, the Plantation Index decreased by 43.74 points to 6,924.40, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased by 0.06 of-a-point to 182.45, while the Energy Index perked up 0.53 of-a-point to 796.06. 

The Main Market volume shrank to 1.97 billion shares worth RM1.56 billion, compared with Monday’s 2.09 billion shares worth RM1.54 billion.

Warrants turnover dwindled to 261.58 million units worth RM54.45 million, from 315.55 million units worth RM79.81 million on Monday. 

The ACE Market volume surged to 950.96 million shares worth RM290.0 million, from 761.99 million shares worth RM289.73 million previously. 

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 263.68 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (474.66 million); construction (43.46 million); technology (661.14 million); SPAC (nil), financial services (48.26 million); property (130.08 million); plantation (30.45 million); REITs (7.18 million), closed/fund (nil); energy (112.36 million); healthcare (99.83 million); telecommunications and media (45.39 million); transportation and logistics (34.19 million); and utilities (26.89 million).