KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 9): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session on a firm note on Tuesday (Aug 9), as the buying momentum continued for selected heavyweights, ahead of the second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) announcement on Friday.
At 12.30 pm, the FBM KLCI had gained 1.77 points to 1,497.80, from Monday’s close of 1,496.03.
The benchmark index opened 2.49 points higher at 1,498.52, and remained in positive territory throughout the session, moving between 1,496.71 and 1,501.03.
On the broader market, gainers and losers were equal at 340, while 420 counters were unchanged, 1,173 untraded, and eight others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.51 billion units worth RM604.31 million.
On Saturday, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the country is on track to achieve its GDP growth target of 5.3% to 6.3% this year.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) settled at RM8.90, followed by Public Bank Bhd at RM4.66, and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd at RM5.30 as the three counters gained two sen. IHH Healthcare Bhd added one sen to RM6.42, and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) rose five sen to RM8.40, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd was flat at RM8.73.
Of the actives, G3 Global Bhd inched up half a sen to 4.5 sen. MyEG Services Bhd, too, rose half a sen to 79 sen. Metronic Global Bhd was flat at 6.5 sen, while Hextar Global Bhd eased 1.5 sen to 34.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 7.05 points to 10,630.63, the FBMT 100 Index bagged 7.18 points to 10,379.01, and the FBM ACE rose 21.83 points to 4,877.49.
However, the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 8.04 points to 10,759.05, and the FBM 70 decreased by 11.52 points to 12,740.31.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index advanced 55 points to 16,707.78, and the Energy Index added 0.98 of a point to 653.51, while the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.45 of a point to 182.18, and the Plantation Index contracted 12.94 points to 7,108.19.-BERNAMA