Bursa Malaysia Ends Slightly Lower At Noon Break
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session slightly lower as profit-taking emerged among selected heavyweights, mainly banking stocks.
At 12.30 pm, the FBM KLCI eased 1.23 points or 0.07 per cent to 1,713.17 from Tuesday’s close of 1,714.40.
The benchmark index opened 1.06 points higher at 1,715.46 and moved between 1,711.17 and 1,718.52 throughout the morning session.
The broader market, however, was slightly positive, with gainers outpacing losers 486 to 464, while 525 counters were unchanged, 1,334 untraded and 15 suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.16 billion units, worth RM1.57 billion.
An analyst said investors remained cautious amid heightened geopolitical tensions in West Asia and crude oil prices approaching US$100 per barrel, raising concerns over inflation and the outlook for interest rates.
Meanwhile, he said selling in selected heavyweights was offset by gains in some technology and oil-related stocks.
He added that weaker overnight Wall Street performance also created a negative backdrop for most regional markets.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank was down 2.0 sen to RM10.52, Public Bank fell 1.0 sen to RM4.99, CIMB inched down 9.0 sen to RM7.89, Tenaga Nasional declined 4.0 sen to RM13.86, but IHH Healthcare gained 5.0 sen to RM7.89.
Actively traded stocks included Zetrix AI, which fell 2.5 sen to 28 sen; Zen Tech, flat at half a sen; NexG, advancing 2.5 sen to 29.5 sen; GTA Holdings, falling 3.5 sen to 30 sen; and Jaks Resources, remaining unchanged at 12 sen.
The top gainers were led by MPI, which jumped RM1.12 sen to RM40.94, followed by Petronas Dagangan, up 38 sen to RM20.30; UMS Integration, gaining 22 sen to RM8.36; and Malayan Cement and UWC, each advancing 21 sen to RM5.73 and RM6.73.
The top losers included Nestle, which trimmed 86 sen to RM93.30; F&N, shedding 32 sen to RM24.22; Hong Leong Financial and Hong Leong Industries, down 24 sen to RM18.74 and RM16.82 respectively; while United Plantations reduced 20 sen to RM33.10.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index climbed 52.93 points to 17,879.84, and the FBM ACE Index rose 23.75 points to 5,295.98.
The FBM Emas Index gained 5.48 points to 12,676.52, the FBM Top 100 Index added 2.60 points to 12,476.29, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 38.22 points to 12,489.05.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index weakened 96.53 points to 20,050.94, and the Plantation Index slipped 56.51 points to 9,420.12.
The Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.51 of a point to 187.93, and the Energy Index gained 1.06 points to 819.83.
-- BERNAMA