Bursa Malaysia Stays Higher At Midday
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained higher at midday, in line with positive regional markets, amid improved global sentiment after the US Treasury announced it would at least double buyback sizes for long-term debt to curb rising yields.
The move came after the 30-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest level since 2007 earlier this week.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) climbed 5.97 points to 1,737.29 from Wednesday’s close of 1,731.32.
The benchmark index opened 0.79 of a point higher at 1,732.11, and fluctuated between 1,732.11 and 1,739.13 during the morning trading session.
However, the broader market was slightly negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 513 to 508, while 557 counters were unchanged, 1,294 untraded and 16 suspended.
Turnover totalled 2.28 billion units worth RM2.07 billion.
In a note, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said the FBM KLCI is likely to remain range-bound amid persistent external and domestic headwinds.
“These include heightened West Asia tensions, the peak August results season and continued foreign outflows,” it said.
Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 1.14 per cent to 25,786.32, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.38 per cent to 66,224.67, South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index surged 5.93 per cent to 6,854.72, but Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.38 per cent to 5,672.37.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank was down by four sen to RM10.60, Public Bank was one sen lower at RM5.14, while Tenaga Nasional rose two sen to RM14.42, CIMB Group and IHH Healthcare added five sen each to RM7.96 and RM8.35.
On the most active list, IJM Corporation rose 11 sen to RM2.80, CBH Engineering Holding climbed 6.5 sen to 85.5 sen, YTL Corporation added 18 sen to RM2.40, and JCY International inched up one sen to 52.5 sen, but Land & General was flat at 18 sen.
Among top gainers, Nestle surged 80 sen to RM104.80, YTL Power International increased 24 sen to RM5.12, Mi Technovation was up by 17 sen to RM6.42, and Hong Leong Bank was 16 sen higher at RM22.84.
As for the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries erased 98 sen to RM45.12, United Plantations reduced 30 sen to RM31.70, Dutch Lady Milk Industries gave up 24 sen to RM31.70, Petronas Chemicals Group slid 22 sen to RM4.47, and Ayer Holdings shed 20 sen to RM7.30.
Among the broader indices, the FBM Mid 70 Index improved by 90.99 points to 18,225.26, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up by 37.98 points to 12,673.11, and the FBM Emas Index strengthened by 45.47 points to 12,850.21.
The FBM Top 100 Index rose 48.50 points to 12,668.37, and the FBM ACE Index increased 30.62 points to 5,333.34.
By sector, the Plantation Index jumped 54.48 points to 9,335.64, and the Financial Services Index appreciated 11.29 points to 20,303.64, but the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 1.24 points to 188.31, and the Energy Index was lower by 1.35 points to 776.12.
-- BERNAMA