Bursa Malaysia Stays Higher At Midday
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained positive at midday, supported by buying interest in selected heavyweights, particularly in the plantation, industrial products and services, as well as financial services sectors.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 2.71 points to 1,728.60 from Monday’s close of 1,725.89.
The benchmark index opened 1.63 points higher at 1,727.52, and fluctuated between 1,723.60 and 1,729.38 during the morning trading session.
However, the broader market was negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 619 to 342, while 520 counters were unchanged, 1,370 untraded and 16 suspended.
Turnover totalled 1.96 billion units worth RM1.26 billion.
In a note, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said the FBM KLCI is likely to remain range-bound as investors stay cautious amid persistent external and domestic uncertainties and a lack of fresh catalysts.
“Heightened West Asia tensions, the peak August results season and continued foreign outflows are likely to keep sentiment subdued,” it said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM10.58, CIMB Group rose three sen to RM7.90, Public Bank was one sen lower at RM5.09, Tenaga Nasional lost four sen to RM14.44, and IHH Healthcare slid six sen to RM8.08.
Other heavyweights included SD Guthrie, which gained 20 sen to RM6.73, Press Metal Aluminium added 14 sen to RM7.92, and RHB Bank was 10 sen higher to RM8.69. The three counters collectively lifted the composite index by 5.29 points.
On the most active list, JAKS Resources inched down half a sen to 13 sen, Zetrix AI eased 2.5 sen to 66.5 sen, while Dataprep and HHRG perked up half a sen to 9.5 sen and 13.5 sen, respectively, and Luster Industries was flat at three sen.
Among top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries garnered 78 sen to RM47.78, Mi Technovation jumped 51 sen to RM6.40, Nestle increased 40 sen to RM103.40, Kelington climbed 39 sen to RM8.93, and Bus Cap surged 14.5 sen to 52.5 sen.
As for the top losers, United Plantations erased 36 sen to RM32.64, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Hong Leong Bank dropped 24 sen each to RM21.32 and RM22.50, respectively. Petronas Dagangan and Fraser & Neave slipped 14 sen each to RM19.32 and RM26.20, respectively.
Among the broader indices, the FBM Emas Shariah Index perked up 4.32 points to 12,650.82 and the FBM Top 100 Index was 2.44 points higher at 12,619.62.
The FBM 70 Index fell by 70.26 points to 18,217.59, the FBM Emas Index shed 2.26 points to 12,806.90, and the FBM ACE Index sank 23.66 points to 5,300.19.
By sector, the Plantation Index soared 58.25 points to 9,371.87, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.94 of a point to 188.91, the Energy Index slid 0.83 of a point to 776.79, and the Financial Services Index lost 10.21 points to 20,239.50.
-- BERNAMA