Bursa slips below 1,700-point level

Bursa Malaysia lost as much as 28.18 points yesterday ahead of the
13th General Election, but analysts said it is in for a sharp rebound if Barisan Nasional (BN) were to win big tomorrow.(no,no,no I prefer aother sharp decline for UBAH!)

 

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FTSE BM KLCI) traded below its key psychological level of 1,700 points for most of the day as investors took profit ahead of the elections.

The index, which tracks the market’s 30 most capitalised companies, hit an intra-day low of 1,685.28 before easing by 18.69 points, or 1.09 per cent, to 1,694.77, its lowest close since Tuesday.

Affin Fund Management Bhd head of investment Amenudden Abd Hadi said a “big” BN win will clear some doubts and bring back assurances that the government’s economic transformation
initiatives will continue and be improved.

“If Pakatan Rakyat were to win, the market could experience a knee-jerk reaction as we do not know who will form the Cabinet.

“There will be no clear indication on the government’s leadership and direction in the first 100 days,” Amenudden said yesterday.

AmInvestment Services Bhd director of retail funds, Ng Chze How, said any surprises such as in the 2008 elections will result in some degree of volatility in the short term.

“Our economy and its fundamentals are okay but if the results of the elections are not as expected, the market will go through a consolidation period,” he said.

JF Apex Securities Bhd said the selldown yesterday was due to election jitters.

While the United States and European markets finished higher yesterday, the optimism failed to boost local investors’ confidence, it added.

Axiata Group, UEM Land, Malaysia Airlines and CIMB Group were the most actively traded shares yesterday.

UEM was also the top gainer, climbing eight sen to RM2.64 while Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd was the top loser after easing 64 sen to RM20.90.