Bursa Malaysia Ends Morning Session Lower On Persistent Selling
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower as persistent selling in selected heavyweights continued to dampen market sentiment.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 3.68 points to 1,735.86, compared with Friday’s close of 1,739.54.
The benchmark index had opened 1.12 points higher at 1,740.66, and moved between 1,733.06 and 1,741.51 throughout the morning session.
The broader market was negative with losers thumping gainers 444 to 357, while 526 counters were unchanged. A total of 1,410 counters remained untraded, and 11 were suspended.
Market turnover stood at 1.17 billion shares worth RM966.25 million.
In a research note, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said the benchmark index is set to extend its range-bound consolidation, with stiff resistance around 1,754-1,771 today.
This is due to cautious positioning ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays and the February results season, the investment bank said.
“Nevertheless, we view any pullback as temporary and constructive, reflecting de-risking and portfolio adjustments rather than fundamental weakness,” it noted.
Among heavyweights, Maybank was 12 sen lower at RM11.94, CIMB fell seven sen to RM8.39, IHH Healthcare slipped 10 sen to RM8.73, while Public Bank inched up one sen to RM5.05, and Tenaga Nasional added 18 sen to RM14.14.
On the most active list, Hong Seng gained half a sen to one sen, Zetrix AI inched up 2.5 sen to 82.5 sen, while 99 Speed Mart lost 25 sen to RM3.70. Tanco gained three sen to RM1.44, and Mega Fortris was 3.5 sen higher at 92 sen.
Besides Tenaga Nasional, other top gainers were Nestle, which was up RM1 to RM110, Malaysian Pacific Industries, climbing 40 sen to RM30.18, MNRB adding 27 sen to RM2.73, Petronas Gas rising 24 sen to RM18.46, and IOI Properties edging up 15 sen to RM3.46.
Besides 99 Speed Mart, the top losers were United Plantations, which dropped 38 sen to RM29.80, Batu Kawan, which fell 22 sen to RM19.52, Allianz Malaysia, which slipped 20 sen to RM22.30, and Alliance Bank, which was 18 sen lower to RM5.11.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index shed 21.04 points to 12,543.77, the FBM Emas Index lost 17.41 points to 12,720.79, the FBM Mid 70 Index declined 4.30 points to 17,565.37, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index bagged 24.30 points to 12,246.31, and the FBM ACE Index inched up 0.13 of a point to 4,741.80.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slumped 143.93 points to 21,379.95, and the Plantation Index edged down 29.69 points to 8,347.24, while the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.49 points higher at 176.57 and the Energy Index gained 3.16 points to 754.26.
-- BERNAMA