Bursa Malaysia's main index opened higher but later declined, dragged down by index-linked counters led by Maybank and Kuala Lumpur Kepong.
At 9.10 this morning, the benchmark index of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 1.15 points to 1,633.84 after opening up 0.61 points to 1,635.93 from 1,634.99 when it closed on Tuesday.
According to Bernama, market sentiment was positive with gainers outpacing losers by 310 to 87 while 358 counters were unchanged, 1,273 untraded and 62 others suspended.
According to Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd through its research notes, Wall Street closed lower after recording record highs with the effect that it may also spread to the local level.
However, the FBM KLCI can still be supported by moderate account enhancement activities at this time.
In the broader market, traders are also expected to focus on the automotive segment following the announcement of the government's decision to extend sales and services tax exemption until mid-2021.
"Besides that, crude palm oil prices remain strong in the uptrend. The price of palm oil was at RM3,550 when it closed yesterday. We also believe that traders may expect the development of the fourth cycle of large-scale solar scheme contracts to be awarded by the first half of 2021, ”said Malacca Securities.
Heavyweights saw Maybank down six sen to RM8.52, Kuala Lumpur Kepong down 40 sen to RM23.80, Petronas Chemicals down five sen to RM7.32 while TNB, Axiata, Genting Malaysia and Telekom Malaysia all fell two sen each. at RM10.56, RM3.69, RM2.71 and RM5.43.
Apart from that, Public Bank gained two sen to RM20.72, Hartalega jumped 14 sen to RM12.08, while IHH Healthcare, Top Glove, CIMB and Hong Leong Bank were flat at RM5.74, RM6.01, RM4.35 and RM18. .48.
For active stocks, Sealink rose 5.5 sen to RM22.5 sen, MTouche rose 1.5 sen to 8.5 sen, Inix rose half-a-sen to 34 sen, JKG added one sen at 11 sen, Techna-X and Yong Tai were flat at 17 sen and 32.5 sen while Iris Corp fell half-a-sen to 43 sen and Green Ocean declined 1.5 sen to 10 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 4.95 points to 13,183.49, the FBM ACE rose 7.0 points to 10,709.39, the FBM Gold Index fell 7.27 points to 11,799.42, the FBMT 100 Index declined 8.64 points to 11,550.02 and the FBM 70 fell 13.47 points to 15,210.46.
Meanwhile, the Industrial Products and Services Index decreased 0.15 points to 175.9, the Financial Services Index decreased 31.19 points to 15,422.22 and the Plantation Index declined 22.04 points to 7,372.09.
