FBM KLCI Ends Morning Session Almost Flat
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session nearly unchanged today, as choppy trading offset support from stronger regional performance.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 0.50 of a point, or 0.03 per cent, to 1,621.05, from Wednesday’s close of 1,621.55.
The benchmark had opened 0.06 points lower at 1,621.49, and moved between 1,620.35 and 1,624.29 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was marginally lower, with 497 losers thumping 446 gainers, while 526 counters were unchanged, 1,184 untraded, and eight suspended.
Turnover totalled 2.34 billion units valued at RM1.12 billion.
Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.64 per cent at 26,361.40, South Korea’s Kospi Index gained 1.48 per cent at 4,063.86, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.55 per cent to 50,990.91, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index increased 1.28 per cent to 4,473.73.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said the FBM KLCI is expected to gain traction today, supported by the return of foreign inflows for a second consecutive day, but further gains may be capped near the 1,632–1,640 resistance zone.
“Investors weigh the potential fallout from the six-week United States government shutdown, lingering US-China trade uncertainties, diverging US Federal Reserve views on a possible December interest rate cut, and the start of the local earnings season,” it said in a note today.
Among heavyweights, Maybank gained two sen to RM9.94, while Public Bank lost seven sen to RM4.27, CIMB Group, Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare were all flat at RM7.50, RM13.20 and RM8.28, respectively.
On the most active list, Perak Transit dipped three sen to 26.5 sen, MMAG eased half-a-sen to 10 sen, NexG added half-a-sen to 30.5 sen, Borneo Oil was flat at half-a-sen, while Tanco advanced 1.5 sen to 90 sen.
Among the top gainers, Hong Leong Industries surged 30 sen to RM14.50, United Plantations climbed 14 sen to RM25.60, Telekom Malaysia bagged 11 sen to RM7.31, Asia File and Dutch Lady Milk rose 10 sen each to RM1.55 and RM26.72, respectively.
As for the top losers, Nestle tumbled RM3.10 to RM112.90, Malaysian Pacific Industries slipped 44 sen to RM30, Petronas Dagangan and Time Dotcom each fell 20 sen to RM22.60 and RM4.85, respectively. Petronas Chemical dropped 15 sen to RM3.60.
On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 12.57 points to 11,794.58, the FBM Emas Index edged down 13.56 points to 12,035.36, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index trimmed 1.63 points to 12,047.98.
Meanwhile, the FBM ACE Index inched down 13.54 points to 5,063.41, and the FBM Mid 70 Index decreased 56.85 points to 16,872.52.
By sector, the Plantation Index gained 10.14 points to 8,061.48, while the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.17 of a point to 168.67, the Energy Index erased 0.34 of a point to 761.49, and the Financial Services Index lost 45.59 points to 18,378.20.
-- BERNAMA