FBM KLCI Firmer At Midday, Broader Market Remains Positive
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index rose 0.54 per cent at lunch break, while the broader market also remained in positive territory as investors chased regional peers after a quiet week, focusing on selected counters.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 8.57 points to 1,586.72 from last Thursday’s close of 1,578.15.
The index began the session 3.07 points firmer at 1,581.22, and was traded between 1,579.57 and 1,587.10 during the morning session.
The optimism in the broader market saw gainers ahead of losers 463 to 399, while 472 counters were unchanged, with 1,234 untraded and eight suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.15 billion units worth RM815 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the local market was tracking regional peers after a quiet period last week, but trading volume remained below par.
“The volume is considered low, making it easier to push the market higher, especially given the lack of market participants,” he said.
Among the gainers in the heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional emerged among the top gainers across the board, adding 32 sen to RM13.38, Petronas Chemicals was 19 sen better at RM4.39, Maybank gained five sen to RM10.04, while YTL Power accumulated seven sen to RM4.11.
In active trade, Tanco was three sen better at 82.5 sen, JAKS and Velesto were one sen better at 11 sen and 21.5 sen respectively and Pharmaniaga and NexG were half-a-sen higher at 18.5 sen and 48.5 sen respectively.
Top gainers were Nestle, adding RM1.76 to RM95.00, followed by PPB Group, advancing 30 sen to RM9.90, Far East expanded 27 sen to RM4.30 and Pentamaster increased 17 sen to RM3.68.
Among the top losers were Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia which dropped 26 sen to RM8.99 and Alianz Malaysia losing 18 sen to RM18.18.
On the broader index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 53.25 points to 11,768.54, the FBMT 100 Index added 51.55 points to 11,535.71, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 63.49 points to 11,739.01.
The FBM 70 Index edged up 26.15 points to 16,460.86, while the FBM ACE Index was 0.61 of-a-point better at 4,739.34.
By sector, the Financial Services Index firmed 53.02 points to 18,167.46, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.31 points to 164.30, the Plantation Index edged up 28.46 points to 7,632.89 but the Energy Index shed 2.32 points to 741.30.
-- BERNAMA