Bursa Malaysia Extends Gains At Midday
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia continued its uptrend momentum at midday against a backdrop of mostly lower regional markets following mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, said an analyst.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.35 per cent, or 6.05 points, to 1,736.94 from Thursday’s close of 1,730.89.
The barometer index opened 1.73 points higher at 1,732.62, its lowest level during the morning session, before moving to an intraday high of 1,744.82.
On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 581 to 339, with 580 counters unchanged, 1,190 untraded and 61 suspended.
Market turnover stood at 1.45 billion shares, valued at RM1.33 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended mixed as selling on technology stocks took centre stage after Microsoft’s below-expectations earnings and soft guidance on its outlook going forward.
"Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield dipped slightly to 4.23 per cent," he told Bernama.
Hong Leong Investment Bank said in a statement that the FBM KLCI’s recent movements were viewed as a profit-taking pullback rather than a trend reversal.
"While the short-term overbought conditions may trigger consolidation, we remain constructively positive on a mid- to long-term advance toward 1,771, 1,800 and 1,822, barring a decisive breakdown below key supports at 1,707 and the 1,700 psychological levels," it said.
Among heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB added 14 sen to RM11.78 and RM8.61 respectively. Public Bank gained five sen to RM4.90, Tenaga Nasional slipped six sen to RM13.94, and IHH Healthcare was two sen lower at RM8.84.
On the most active list, Capital A eased two sen to 61.5 sen, Dagang NeXchange gave up 1.5 sen to 30.5 sen, SP Setia slipped one sen to 96.5 sen while Tanco gained two sen to RM1.36.
Top gainers included Hong Leong Bank, up 50 sen to RM24.82; Hong Leong Financial, up 30 sen to RM22.00; Dutch Lady Milk Industries, up 16 sen to RM33.26; and Ta Ann edged up 14 sen to RM4.73.
Leading decliners were Nestle, down RM1.70 to RM112.30; Batu Kawan shaved 18 sen to RM19.40; Malaysian Pacific Industries and United Plantations, down 14 sen each to RM32.06 and RM30.44.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 33.01 points to 12,532.85, and the FBM Emas Index gained 28.44 points to 12,719.94.
In contrast, the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 28.17 points to 12,250.06, the FBM ACE Index slipped 23.53 points to 4,720.25, and the FBM Mid 70 Index trimmed 1.75 points to 17,465.68.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 261.20 points to 21,397.54, the Plantation Index climbed 10.11 points to 8,375.09 and the Energy Index rose 4.31 points to 757.37, but the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.24 of-a-point to 175.90.
-- BERNAMA