Bursa Malaysia Remains Lower At Midday
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained lower at midday, tracking the downbeat performances on Wall Street overnight and regional markets, amid escalating tensions in West Asia.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 3.86 points to 1,729.50 from Tuesday’s close of 1,733.36.
The benchmark index opened 1.39 points weaker at 1,731.97, and fluctuated between 1,725.95 and 1,733.44 during the morning trading session.
The broader market was negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 633 to 364, while 503 counters were unchanged, 1,373 untraded and 16 suspended.
Turnover totalled 1.91 billion units worth RM1.31 billion.
In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said Wall Street is likely to remain cautious as investors take profits in technology stocks while balancing resilient enterprise hardware demand, elevated treasury yields, and geopolitical uncertainty.
“We expect weaker global technology sentiment to weigh on the FBM KLCI, while higher Brent oil prices may support selected energy counters and stock-specific momentum remains focused on defensive names with visible catalysts,” it said.
Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 0.24 per cent to 25,533.38, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumped 3.10 per cent to 65,370.63, South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index tumbled 5.52 per cent to 6,490.29, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.22 per cent to 5,688.91.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added two sen to RM10.64, Public Bank was two sen higher at RM5.12, and IHH Healthcare gained 14 sen to RM8.29, while CIMB Group was three sen lower at RM7.92, and Tenaga Nasional lost 10 sen to RM14.32.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI was 1.5 sen higher to 65 sen, JAKS Resources was flat at 13 sen, Pentech Holdings gained 3.5 sen to 32.5 sen, while Nexgram Holdings edged down half a sen to 5.5 sen, and Lotte Chemical Titan Holdings rose six sen to 37 sen.
Nestle led the gainers list, putting on 40 sen to RM104.10, Dutch Lady Milk Industries garnered 38 sen to RM31.88, and Petronas Dagangan increased 30 sen to RM19.66. Fraser & Neave added 12 sen to RM26.42, while Ranhill Utilities climbed 11 sen to RM2.82.
Among top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries sank RM1.66 to RM46.36. United Plantations slipped 42 sen to RM32.18, Mi Technovation fell 23 sen to RM6.22, and AMMB Holdings lost 20 sen to RM7.03.
On broader indices, the FBM 70 Index fell 67.18 points to 18,144.48, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 30.80 points to 12,635.94, and the FBM Emas Index dropped 33.45 points to 12,796.25.
The FBM Top 100 Index erased 32.81 points to 12,611.73 and the FBM ACE Index decreased 19.40 points to 5,281.78.
By sector, the Energy Index edged up 0.58 of a point to 778.99 and the Industrial Products and Services Index perked up 0.09 of a point to 189.52, while the Plantation Index tumbled 82.79 points to 9,293.89, and the Financial Services Index slid 42.77 points to 20,265.22.
-- BERNAMA