Bursa Malaysia Lower At Midday
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower, in tandem with most regional markets following weaker Wall Street performance overnight.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 3.05 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 1,605.09 from Thursday’s close of 1,608.14.
The index, which opened 0.51 of-a-point lower at 1,607.63, moved between 1,604.63 and 1,609.93 during the morning session.
In the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 537 to 345, while 465 counters were unchanged, 1,554 untraded, and 16 suspended.
Turnover amounted to 1.81 billion units worth RM1.04 billion.
Apex Securities Bhd expects the FBM KLCI to trade lower today, tracking Wall Street’s sharp overnight pullback as renewed concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) spending weighed on technology stocks and reversed Wednesday’s gains.
“Domestically, defensive and domestically driven counters may provide some support amid weaker external sentiment. Technology stocks may remain under pressure amid concerns over AI spending, while energy stocks could benefit from elevated oil prices amid tensions in West Asia.
“Construction stocks may stay in focus on continued data centre-related project opportunities and potential contract wins,” it said in a research note today.
Among the heavyweight counters, Public Bank added one sen to RM4.72. SD Guthrie rose three sen to RM5.76, Maybank slipped one sen to RM9.96, while CIMB and TNB fell four sen each to RM7.11 and RM13.20, respectively.
In active trading, Zetrix AI advanced 1.5 sen to 6.5 sen, Ni Hsin perked up 2.5 sen to 48.5 sen, VS Industry shed one sen to 32 sen, and MAG Holdings eased half-a-sen to 15.5 sen.
Of the top gainers, Nestle increased by 54 sen to RM89.50, Petronas Chemicals and Kelington both jumped 16 sen to RM4.65 and RM8.54, respectively, while Kuala Lumpur Kepong improved by 12 sen to RM20.42.
As for the top decliners, Allianz Malaysia ICPS slipped 48 sen to RM19.52, Malaysian Pacific Industries went down 34 sen to RM39.96, Hong Leong Bank trimmed 26 sen to RM21.24, and Batu Kawan was 22 sen lower at RM19.08.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index grew 6.37 points to 17,124.74, the FBM Emas Index declined 16.66 points to 11,947.84, and the FBM Top 100 Index slid 15.47 points to 11,754.36.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 15.16 points to 11,916.82 and the FBM ACE Index shed 5.92 points to 5,317.58.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.21 of a point to 175.66, the Plantation Index climbed 11.75 points to 8,674.43, the Financial Services Index dipped 46.22 points to 18,558.78, and the Energy Index put on 0.23 of a point to 832.03.
-- BERNAMA