Bursa Malaysia Maintains Positive Momentum At Noon
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia maintained its uptrend at midday, supported by buying activity in selected heavyweight stocks, particularly in industrial products and services, utilities, and financial services.
Sunway rose 24 sen to RM4.47, YTL Corporation gained 13 sen to RM2.36, and Public Bank added 7.0 sen to RM4.38. These stocks lifted the composite index by a combined 7.25 points.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was up 2.85 points at 1,575.19, compared with Monday’s close of 1,572.34.
The benchmark index opened 2.57 points higher at 1,574.91 and ranged between 1,570.97 and 1,582.32 during the session.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 543 to 330. A total of 495 stocks were unchanged, 1,001 remained untraded, and nine were suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.22 billion units, valued at RM1.36 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said market investors will be monitoring the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) interest rate decision, initial jobless claims in the United States (US), and crude oil inventories this week.
“With Malaysia heading the ASEAN chair, we remain positive about the renewable energy and tourism sectors.
“Although the energy sector could see continued strength due to Russian oil sanctions and declining crude oil inventories last week, optimism may fade if US President Donald Trump proceeds with plans to increase US oil production, thus limiting crude oil price upside potential,” it said in a research note.
Meanwhile, the brokerage firm noted that ongoing tariffs on China’s products, which could weaken China’s economy, are likely to reduce global oil demand.
Among other heavyweights, YTL Power International edged up 12 sen to RM4.02, Gamuda rose 7.0 sen to RM4.41, MR D.I.Y. inched up 3.0 sen to RM1.73, while Maybank and CIMB eased 6.0 sen each to RM10.22 and RM7.94.
Among the active stocks, CBH Engineering improved 1.5 sen to 33 sen, Velesto Energy gained half-a-sen to 20 sen, and Mah Sing added 5.0 sen to RM1.43. However, Harvest Miracle Capital and Velocity Capital Partners remained flat at 16.5 sen and 8.0 sen, respectively.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index expanded by 46.53 points to 12,112.36, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 52.03 points to 12,016.21, the FBMT 100 Index firmed by 42.37 points to 11,790.22, the FBM 70 Index soared 143.67 points to 18,206.16, and the FBM ACE Index jumped 38.05 points to 5,232.66.
By sector, the Energy Index inched up 0.33 of-a-point to 855.73, the Industrial Products and Services Index recovered 1.48 points to 169.94, and the Financial Services Index climbed 10.42 points to 18,809.62. In contrast, the Plantation Index shed 10.20 points to 7,357.20.
-- BERNAMA