Bursa Malaysia opens lower, awaiting fresh catalyst

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia extended yesterday’s downtrend in early trade as investors’ risk appetite was weighed down by cautious market sentiment

The benchmark index fell 0.9 of a point, or 0.06% to 1,445.13 at 9.17am. The index opened 2.93 points lower at 1,442.89.

Among the losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries slid 30 sen to RM26.40, KESM fell 15 sen to RM6.85, CPE Technology lost 15 sen to 92 sen and PETRONAS Dagangan declined 12 sen to RM22.34.

Nestle rose 40 sen to RM114.70, Heineken gained 28 sen to RM21.38, F&N added 18 sen to RM27.44 and Hong Leong Bank climbed eight sen to RM19.08.

In a note, Inter-Pacific Research said Bursa Malaysia’s near-term conditions remained unsettled by the low buying interest and lack of catalyst to provide the much-needed lift.

As a result, the downward pressure is likely to remain for the time being and the key index is unlikely to find sufficient traction to mount a meaningful rebound anytime soon.

Inter-Pacific said with interest rate concerns abated significantly, market players are scouring for fresh impetuses. However, with the year-end break and festivities approaching, there will be few leads available for market players to follow.

“At the same time, the window dressing activities are still about a fortnight away, leaving the key index on a drifting trend for now and the 1,445 level is also precarious.

“A breach below this level could see the key slip back to the 1,440 support. The hurdles, on the other hand, are at the psychological 1,450 level, followed by the 1,455 level,” Inter-Pacific said.

Similarly, it said the lower liners were devoid of traction to mount a meaningful up-move and they are likely to remain largely rangebound for now. There are also a few leads for retail players to follow and most of these stocks will also be on a drifting mode for now.