Bursa Malaysia Turns Higher At Midday On Stronger Ringgit
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia pared earlier losses to end the morning session higher, outperforming regional peers on the back of a stronger ringgit.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 3.74 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 1,647.46 from Monday’s close of 1,643.72.
The index had opened 0.95 of a point lower at 1,642.77 and hit its lowest level of 1,636.50 during the session.
Market breadth was negative, with decliners beating gainers 661 to 301, while 456 counters were unchanged, 1,358 untraded, and 12 suspended.
Turnover reached 1.58 billion units valued at RM1.02 billion.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said that despite weak cues from Wall Street and regional markets, the benchmark index advanced, supported by December seasonality tailwinds, a firmer ringgit, and optimism surrounding the US Federal Reserve.
“Despite lingering risks from a potential Bank of Japan interest rate hike on Dec 19, China-Japan tensions, and possible cabinet shifts following the Nov 29 Sabah polls, the benchmark index is still expected to grind higher towards 1,650-1,660 by the end of December,” it said.
At midday, the ringgit stood at 4.0805/0850 against the US dollar. The local note had opened 4.0890/0970 versus the greenback from 4.0930/0980 at yesterday’s close, marking its strongest performance in nearly five years.
Among heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional rose two sen each to RM10.38 and RM13.12, respectively, CIMB gained one sen to RM7.94, and IHH Healthcare added six sen to RM8.76, while Public Bank lost two sen to RM4.47.
On the most active list, Tanco slipped three sen to RM1.15, Velesto and Mega Fortris eased half a sen each to 28 sen and 79.5 sen, respectively, SNS Network dropped 2.5 sen to 50 sen, and VS Industry inched down two sen to 49.5 sen.
Top gainers included Nestle, which climbed 70 sen to RM113, Dutch Lady Milk Industries rose 58 sen to RM30.70, Fraser and Neave gained 22 sen to RM35.28, Petronas Gas added 18 sen to RM17.84, and Petronas Dagangan advanced 16 sen to RM19.44.
Top losers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which fell 30 sen to RM31.50, Hong Leong Industries dropped 18 sen to RM15.74, United Malacca trimmed 12 sen to RM5.80, Itmax System and Panasonic Manufacturing Asia both increased 10 sen to RM4.62 and RM7.20, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index edged down 1.88 points to 12,088.50, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 7.94 points to 11,906.55, the FBM ACE Index fell 43.80 points to 4,681.49, the FBM 70 Index retreated 93.50 points to 16,579.92, while the FBMT 100 Index bagged 4.55 points to 11,889.51.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index strengthened 5.78 points to 19,285.94, and the Plantation Index advanced 30.94 points to 8,170.39, while the Energy Index eased 5.85 points to 759.69, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.75 of a point to 169.13.
-- BERNAMA