Bursa Malaysia, which recorded a profit yesterday, opened lower this morning due to very cautious market sentiment, especially ahead of the announcement of the 2021 Budget this afternoon.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) benchmark fell 1.84 points to 1,499.65 after opening 0.69 points lower at 1,500.80.
Gainers outnumbered losers by 300 to 141 while 318 counters were unchanged, 1,383 untraded and 40 others suspended.
According to Bernama, volume was 377.93 million worth RM219.29 million.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said investors expected the budget presentation this time, the first under the National Alliance-led government, to be the most important especially in the midst of the health crisis that needs further steps to be introduced to revitalize the economy. .
"In the current situation, we expect the market to remain stable with investors continuing to strive for higher returns.
"Therefore, we continue to side with the construction sector as the announcement of the 2021 Budget this afternoon may see mega infrastructure projects remain in the planning," he said.
The technology sector continues to be at the forefront, taking cues from Nasdaq’s strong overnight performance.
Another analyst expects creating jobs and protecting frontline personnel will be the main focus of the 2021 Budget.
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose one sen to RM7.09, Public Bank rose two sen to RM15.02, Top Glove and Hartalega were flat at RM8.30 and RM18.00.
Nestle led the losers, down 30 sen to RM139.70, followed by GHL System which fell 23 sen to RM2.67 and MISC lower 15 sen to RM6.73.
The healthiest stocks, Lambo and Kanger were flat at three sen and 20 sen, respectively, while Vivocom rose 11 sen to RM1.18 and JCY International rose three sen to 73.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Gold Index rose 2.02 points to 10,892.19, the FBMT 100 Index rose 0.21 points at 10,682.34, while the FBM Gold Shariah Index fell 5.95 points to 13,126.78.
FBM 70 rose 51.99 points to 14,385.04 and FBM ACE 68.00 points stronger at 10,668.90.
The Financial Services Index rose 16.04 points to 12,116.16, the Industrial Products and Services Index was lower 0.06 points at 149.30 and the Plantation Index fell 4.58 points to 7,127.03.
