KUALA LUMPUR: The mood on Bursa Malaysia is likely to stay cautious as news of the dissolution of six state assemblies have heightened expectations that the elections will be held sooner rather than later, an analyst said today.“Therefore, we reckon the index to hover within the 1,385 to 1,395 range, with tech-related stocks to see some profit-taking activities today after the strong run-up since end-May,” Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said.
Investors are hoping to find clues on the market direction but a hawkish stance by most central banks point to a possible increase in interest rates. The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI began the day at 1,385.73 points, down 2.60 points from yesterday’s close of 1,388.33 points.On the broader market, losers led gainers 172 to 88, while 204 counters were unchanged, 1,831 were not traded and 18 others were suspended.The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 245 points while the Nasdaq lost 22 points as the US 10-year yield dipped to 3.719%.
Of the actives, Classita and Tanco warrants edged up half-a-sen each to 9.5 sen and 19.5 sen respectively, and Sarawak Consolidated eased half-a-sen to 43 sen, while Tanco and Dataprep were flat at 51 sen and 17.5 sen respectively.