Bursa Malaysia Lower At Midday Amid Selling In Banking Stocks
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained lower at midday, weighed down by selling in selected heavyweights particularly banking stocks, in line with the softer Wall Street performance.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) erased 13.67 points to 1,656.35 from Monday’s close of 1,670.02.
The benchmark index, which opened 5.91 points lower at 1,664.11, moved between 1,653.63 and 1,665.32 during the session.
Among selected banking counters were CIMB which dropped 18 sen to RM7.81, Maybank decreased eight sen to RM10.08, Public Bank fell four sen to RM4.75, RHB Bank lost 16 sen to RM7.68 and AMMB reduced five sen to RM6.55.
Market breadth was negative, with decliners outnumbering gainers 646 to 312. A total of 459 counters were unchanged, while 1,474 were untraded and 143 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.83 billion shares worth RM1.18 billion.
Technically, Apex Securities Bhd said, the key index held within a narrow range above the 1,660 support level with early signs of stabilisation emerging as the FBM KLCI approaches the lower boundary of its descending trend channel at around 1,640.
“A sustained move above 1,680-1,685 would provide the first indication of improving near-term momentum, with the next resistance level at 1,700-1,705.
“On the downside, 1,660 remains the immediate support level, while a break below it could bring the lower boundary of the descending trend channel into focus,” it said in a note.
Among other heavyweight stocks, Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare both added four sen to RM12.94 and RM7.99 respectively.
In active trade, Zetrix AI dropped 2.5 sen to 16.5 sen, Jaks Resources gained half a sen to 19 sen, Ni Hsin inched down half a sen to 38.5 sen, while MAG remained unchanged at 15.5 sen and JCY International perked 2.5 sen to 58 sen.
Among the top gainers, Solarvest was 28 sen higher at RM4.40, Ranhill Utilities gained 15 sen to RM3.34, Southern Cable jumped 14 sen to RM2.90, KLCC Property REITS surged 13 sen to RM8.48 and Petronas Dagangan climbed 12 sen to RM19.44.
Malaysian Pacific Industries was the biggest loser, falling RM1.50 sen to RM40.70 while Fraser & Neave shed 74 sen to RM21.48, and United Plantations edged down 28 sen to RM31.32, Allianz Malaysia shaved off 18 sen to RM20.92 and Unisem slid 16 sen to RM4.33.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index lost 72.29 points to 17,615.47, the FBM Emas Index eased 84.42 points to 12,330.37, and the FBM Top 100 Index reduced 87.14 points to 12,119.81.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 55.22 points to 12,187.10 while the FBM ACE Index notched up 8.52 points to 5,499.13.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.79 points to 182.01, while the Energy Index gained 3.86 points to 865.68. The Financial Services Index lost 203.82 points to 19,394.56, while the Plantation Index went up 29.22 points to 9,247.71.
-- BERNAMA