Bursa Malaysia Higher At Midday, In Line With Regional Peers
By Siti Noor Afera Abu
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index continued its uptrend momentum at midday in line with regional peers, lifted by persistent buying in banking, healthcare and utility counters.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) soared 15.85 points to 1,759.92 from Monday’s close of 1,744.07.
The barometer index opened 5.18 points higher at 1,749.25, moving between 1,749.10 and 1,762.49 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers leading losers 649 to 445. A total of 514 counters were unchanged, while 1,130 were untraded and 66 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.96 billion units, valued at RM1.89 billion.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the 1,760 level, which was touched during mid-morning, is more of a short-term resistance level.
He said that around this level, it is common for some investors to take profits or pause for a while.
“If the market slows down or retraces slightly, that’s normal and doesn’t mean the trend is broken. After 1,760, the market just needs to confirm that momentum is still intact,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd suggested that investors could wait for a pullback in stocks to create entry opportunities, as most are trading at overbought levels.
“Despite the ringgit hitting RM3.96 against the US dollar, and spurred buying interest in the consumer, financial and property sectors, we suggest waiting for a pullback,” it said in a note.
Among the heavyweight stocks, Maybank and Public Bank surged 12 sen each to RM11.62 and RM4.99, respectively. CIMB jumped 14 sen to RM8.76, Tenaga Nasional rose two sen to RM14.00, and IHH Healthcare added five sen to RM8.71.
On the most active list, Capital A fell 1.5 sen to 57.5 sen, One Gasmaster lost four sen to 21 sen, while Zetrix AI was flat at 81.5 sen. SP Setia and Tanco gained two sen each to 97.5 sen and RM1.33.
Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific and Hong Leong Financial, which increased 52 sen each to RM33.10 and RM21.82, respectively. Malayan Cement rose 28 sen to RM8.03, Bursa Malaysia inched up 25 sen to RM8.95, and Hong Leong Bank was 22 sen higher at RM24.72.
As for the top decliners, Nestle down 60 sen to RM115.40, United Plantations lost 26 sen to RM30.60, Petronas Gas and IGB Real Trust slid 18 sen each to RM18.40 and RM2.81, respectively, while Kuala Lumpur Kepong decreased 14 sen to RM19.88.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index increased by 101.92 points to 12,702.09, the FBM Emas Index rose 98.52 points to 12,897.68, the FBM Mid 70 Index gained 85.98 points to 17,716.81, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index bagged 57.65 points to 12,458.04, but the FBM ACE Index reduced 5.49 points to 4,843.22.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index climbed 322.52 points to 21,519.75, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 2.08 points to 179.36. The Plantation Index declined 20.09 points to 8,425.05, and the Energy Index trimmed 0.46 points to 764.40.
-- BERNAMA