KUALA LUMPUR: Chip makers and tech-related stocks slipped in early Wednesday trade but strong crude oil prices lifted Petronas-linked stocks while the broader market was mixed.
At 9.16am the FBM KLCI was down 1.50 points or 0.09% to 1, 586.46. Turnover was 604.34 million shares valued at RM270.73mil. There were 275 gainers, 224 losers and 321 counters unchanged.
Asian stocks opened mixed Wednesday after U.S. equities treaded water near a record ahead of key inflation data. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield opened steady after touching an intraday one-month low, Bloomberg reported.
Shares slipped in Japan and South Korea and edged higher in Australia. U.S. equity contracts were steady after the S&P 500 ended little changed just shy of its May 7 record close. A slide in biotech stocks after Monday’s rally offset gains in megacap technology shares.
At on Bursa Tuesday, foreign funds turned net buyers at RM102.5mil and local retail investors at RM4mil but local funds were net sellers at RM106.5mil.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 30.42 points, or 0.09%, to 34, 599.82; the S&P 500 gained 0.74 points, or 0.02%, at 4, 227.26; and the Nasdaq Composite added 43.19 points, or 0.31%, at 13, 924.91.
At Bursa, KESM fell 22 sen to RM11.54, Greatec 20 sen to RM5.60 and MPI 10 sen to RM37.90.
Profit taking saw Press Metal
slip 10 sen to RM5.11 while glove maker Harta lost 10 sen to RM8.36.
Brent crude futures settled up 73 cents at US$72.22 a barrel. US crude futures rose 82 cents to settle at US$70.05 a barrel.
Petronas Dagangan rose 14 sen to RM18.98 and Petronas Chemicals nine sen to RM8.15.
CI Holdings gained 20 sen to RM3.24 and CanOne was up 13 sen to RM3.08, way above the takeover offer price of RM2.50.
Serba Dinamik was actively traded, up 2.5 sen to 64.5 sen.
