KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed in the red as investors remained cautious due to the weak performance of markets in the region.
At 5pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI fell 2.97 points or 0.21 per cent to 1,442.85, with 13 out of the 30 constituent counters falling into the red.
Turnover was at 3.011 billion shares valued at RM1.981 billion.
Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI finished lower due to weak market sentiment across the region, a result of overnight losses on Wall Street.
At the same time, Thong said economic data from China, which came in below expectations due to its earlier implementation of a zero-Covid policy, has negatively influenced investor sentiment, while its recovery is slower than anticipated.
"On the domestic front, we foresee the recent selloff providing investors with the opportunity to acquire stocks at reduced prices. "Additionally, the benchmark index is nearing oversold territory; hence, we expect bargain hunting to emerge anytime soon and anticipate it to trend within the range of 1,440-1,450 towards the weekend. "From a technical standpoint, the 1,445 support is broken; thus, the next support level is seen at 1,430, while resistance remains unchanged at 1,465," he told the Business Times today.
Among heavyweight counters, Petronas-linked counters remained FBM KLCI laggards, with Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd losing eight sen to RM6.95 and Petronas Dagangan Bhd dropping 44 sen to RM22.02.
As for the most active counters, Classita lost one sen to 4.5 sen, while newly listed CPE Technology Bhd dived to 91.5 sen.
Widad Group Bhd was flat at 47 sen and Reneuco was 2.5 sen higher at 26 sen.Ends
