Bursa Malaysia Ends Morning Session Higher, Boosted By Buying Activities

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session higher, supported by continued buying in financial services and consumer-related counters.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 8.74 points to 1,704.18 from Monday’s close of 1,695.443.

The market barometer, which opened 5.30 points higher at 1,700.74, moved between 1,698.79 and 1,705.54 during the session.

However, market breadth was negative with losers leading gainers 502 to 464, while 520 counters were unchanged, 1,152 untraded, and 12 suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.08 billion units valued at RM1.62 billion.

In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it expects the key index to test the psychological mark of 1,700 in the near term.

Meanwhile, it said market players are focusing on Sunway Bhd’s proposal to acquire IJM Corporation Bhd in a RM11 billion cash-and-share deal, implying a 15 per cent premium to IJM’s last traded price.

“We view the transaction positively, as the enlarged group will command a combined gross domestic value of circa RM118 billion and an outstanding order book of about RM13 billion,

“For IJM, the deal offers immediate value realisation, while Sunway benefits from enhanced execution capabilities and a stronger position to capture large infrastructure, data centre and industrial projects going forward,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank gained eight sen to RM11.02, Public Bank increased four sen to RM4.63, CIMB rose nine sen to RM8.30 and Tenaga Nasional climbed 14 sen to RM13.74, while IHH fell one sen to RM8.54.

On the most active list, MMAG inched up half-a-sen to 6.5 sen, Semico bagged 23.5 sen to 48.5 sen, IJM improved 10 sen to RM2.85 and Pharmaniaga added 1.5 sen to 30 sen, while Ingenieur was half-a-sen lower at 3.5 sen.

Among the top gainers, Hong Leong Industries advanced 30 sen to RM16.96, Spritzer improved 16 sen to RM2.98, PMB Technology added 14 sen to RM1.43, Bursa Malaysia was 15 sen higher at RM8.59, and Batu Kawan rose 12 sen to RM20.20.

As for the top decliners, Petronas Dagangan lost 46 sen to RM20.22, Nestle slipped 30 sen to RM119.70, Malaysian Pacific was 28 sen lower at RM32.70, Fraser & Neave decreased 16 sen to RM36.50 and United Plantation fell 20 sen to RM34.80.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index added 50.77 points to 12,581.48, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 54.34 points to 12,373.93, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 12.26 points higher at 12,329.13.

The FBM Mid 70 Index climbed 36.39 points to 17,593.58, while the FBM ACE Index decreased 15.27 points to 4,989.51.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 168.65 points to 20,354.91, the Energy Index edged up 0.82 of-a-point to 785.29 and the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 0.52 of-a-point to 173.49, while the Plantation Index decreased 41.64 points to 8,618.64. 

-- BERNAMA