Bursa Malaysia ended September 21, 2020 in the red. — Picture by Hari Anggara
The index opened 3.79 points higher at 1,510.42 and moved between 1,496.97 and 1,511.77 throughout the day. AxiCorp chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the outcome on the inclusion Malaysia’s bond in the FTSE Russell’s World Government Bond Index this week would be a risk to the local view and is bound to keep investors sidelined.
Innes said investors were dumping profitable shares while institutional investors were selling the euro and British pound, which led to the strengthening of the US dollar across the board. Among the actives, Metronic and Sapura Energy both edged up half-a-sen to 8.5 sen and 12 sen, CME rose one sen to 12.5 sen, Rimbunan Sawit reduced two sen to 29 sen, HB Global eased 2.5 sen to 18.5 sen, Jaya Tiasa narrowed seven sen to 76 sen, and Iris Corp went down one sen to 31.5 sen.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index reduced 81.83 points to 12,487.52, the Plantation Index gave up 16.62 points to 7,135.33 and the Industrial Products and Services Index went down 1.23 point to 135.47.