Bursa Malaysia trading opened lower this morning following mixed market sentiment due to concerns over the Covid-19 daily case which continued to record record highs.
However, the phase shift through the National Recovery Plan (NRP) in several states as well as the gains posted on Wall Street yesterday did little to give positive sentiment to support the trend from lower declines.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) index fell 0.65 points to 1,495.13 from 1,495.78 at the close on Thursday.
Bernama reported that the key index traded 0.92 points lower at 1,494.86.
On the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers by 192 out of 122, while 262 counters were unchanged, 1,617 untraded and 11 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 213.75 million units worth RM90.38 million.
Yesterday, 20,596 Covid-19 cases were recorded in Malaysia and went on to become the highest daily record ever achieved since the outbreak hit the country in February last year.
Following that, NRP Coordinating Minister Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the number of new Covid-19 cases with serious symptoms would be used as a new indicator for the phase transition for each state.
The factor was driven after the vaccination rate reached 40% for the adult population and the number of new Covid-19 cases became less relevant as most cases were in categories one and two.
For heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals fell three sen to RM7.97, TNB and CIMB fell two sen each to RM9.70 and RM4.53, respectively.
Meanwhile, Maybank, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare remained at RM8.04, RM3.96 and RM5.72 respectively.
For active stocks, Encorp Bhd jumped four sen to 36.5 sen and YB Ventures rose 6.5 sen to 63 sen, while Focus Dynamics, NWP Holding and Vsolar Group were flat at four sen, 21 sen and 1.5 sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 3.24 points to 10,983.98, the FBM ACE added 28.55 points to 7,200.87 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 0.86 points to 12,069.6.
The FBM 70 rose 16.39 points to 14,573.39 and the FBMT 100 Index declined 0.33 points to 10,694.52.
By sector, the Financial Services Index fell 0.85 points to 14,755.99, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.13 points to 188.17 and the Plantation Index declined 1.95 points to 6,095.97.
