Bursa Malaysia Remains Lower At Mid-Afternoon
KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained lower at mid-afternoon today, in line with regional markets, amid cautious sentiment amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, which is expected to disrupt energy supply and heighten inflation risks.
At 3.05 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell by 15.53 points, or 0.90 per cent, to 1,696.42 from Tuesday’s close of 1,711.95, after opening 0.52 of a point weaker at 1,711.43
Market breadth was negative, with losers trouncing gainers 899 to 217. A total of 429 counters were unchanged, 1,077 untraded and 10 suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.32 billion units worth RM2.05 billion.
Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index declined 2.70 per cent to 4,783.93, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.56 per cent to 54,245.54.
Among heavyweights, IHH Healthcare gained one sen to RM8.98, Press Metal rose four sen to RM7.38, Maxis was flat at RM3.86, Maybank trimmed 22 sen to RM11.62, Public Bank shed four sen to RM4.85, and CIMB eased nine sen to RM7.93.
On the most active list, Hengyuan Refining surged 29 sen to RM1.64, Alam Maritim improved five sen to 25.5 sen, Sinaran Advance was flat at seven sen, Bumi Armada contracted 1.5 sen to 36.5 sen and Velesto inched down half-a-sen to 32.5 sen.
Top gainers included United Plantations, which rose by 38 sen to RM29.98, PPB, which appreciated 32 sen to RM10.92, Malaysian Pacific Industries, which went up 12 sen to RM30.54, and Nestle, which added 10 sen to RM107.60.
As for leading decliners, BLD Plantation dipped 68 sen to RM14.62, Hong Leong Bank depreciated 52 sen to RM22.88, Allianz Malaysia tumbled 42 sen to RM21.32, and Hong Leong Industries contracted 40 sen to RM17.10.
On the broader market, the FBMT 100 Index fell by 118.10 points to 12,258.77, the FBM Emas Index slid 125.21 points to 12,427.21, the FBM 70 Index was 191.90 points lower at 17,166.11, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was down 86.36 points to 12,085.48, and the FBM ACE Index was 129.43 points lower to 4,486.33.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index decreased 283.85 points to 20,719.68, the Plantation Index erased 31.02 points to 8,146.05, the Energy Index slid 7.02 points to 795.09, while the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.94 of-a-point to 171.27.
-- BERNAMA