FBM KLCI Ends Morning Session Flat

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s key index ended the morning trading session flat amid continued selling in selected heavyweights led by plantation and financial services counters, as well as losses in regional markets.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched up 0.67 of a point to 1,530.05 from Monday’s close of 1,529.38.

The benchmark index, which opened 0.20 of a point firmer at 1,529.58, moved in the range of 1,529.17 to 1,537.62 during the session.

However, the broader market sentiment was bearish, with losers surpassing gainers 537 to 288, while 456 counters were unchanged, 1,240 untraded, and 44 suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.25 billion units worth RM1.08 billion.

Bursa Malaysia’s performance tracked regional peers, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng losing 0.95 per cent to 25,319.39, Singapore’s Straits Times Index falling 0.41 per cent to 4,223.90, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipping 0.88 per cent to 40,637.48. South Korea’s Kospi, however, gained 0.42 per cent to 3,209.52.

In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said market participants could be adopting a “wait-and-see” approach following a weaker Wall Street performance overnight.

“Wall Street trended sideways, despite recent de-escalation in the trade war, with the United States (US) and European Union (EU) capping tariffs at 15 per cent,” it said in a note.

IOI Corporation lost 11 per cent to RM3.75, CIMB fell five sen to RM6.70 and Public Bank shed two sen to RM4.23, while Petronas Chemicals gained 17 sen to RM3.78 and Press Metal Aluminium grew 13 sen to RM5.48.

Among the heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare advanced two sen each to RM13.38 and RM6.68 respectively, while Maybank was flat at RM9.54.

As for the actives, ACE debutant Oxford Innotech increased 9.5 sen to 38.5 sen, Zetrix AI climbed 2.5 sen to 86 sen and NexG remained unchanged at 53 sen, while Focus Dynamics dropped half-a-sen to 0.5 sen and Ekovest was 5.5 sen lower at 38.5 sen.

Among the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries garnered 22 sen to RM19.50, Petronas Dagangan went up 18 sen to RM21.62 and Hong Leong Bank rose 10 sen to RM19.24.

Of the top losers, Nestle fell 70 sen to RM87.30 and Fraser and Neave slid 52 sen to RM28.48.

Across the broader market, the FBM Emas Index trimmed 4.64 points to 11,467.56, the FBMT 100 Index inched down 0.49 of a point to 11,231.96, and the FBM ACE Index retreated 22.86 points to 4,613.74.

However, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 9.99 points to 11,500.03 and the FBM 70 Index notched up 24.33 points to 16,506.08.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.94 points higher at 159.33, while the Financial Services Index reduced 24.31 points to 17,384.06, the Energy Index shrank 2.52 points to 738.27, and the Plantation Index erased 58.52 points to 7,404.71.

-- BERNAMA