KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 9): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session higher, supported by consistent buying in selected technology, consumer product and services counters, despite the weaker sentiment in the regional market.
At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.18 points to 1,494.98 from Friday’s close of 1,489.8.
The market bellwether, which opened 1.96 points better at 1,491.76, fluctuated between 1,491.76 and 1,496.6 throughout the session.
On the broader market, gainers eked past losers at 435 versus 434, while 422 counters were unchanged, 904 untraded and 11 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.18 billion units worth RM1.2 billion.
A dealer said most Asian markets had opened lower on Monday amidst the sharp dip in gold and oil prices, noting that investors’ sentiment was shaken by a sudden drop in gold prices as a break of US$1,750 an ounce triggered stop-loss sales, taking it to as low as US$1,684 an ounce.
Meanwhile, Kenanga Research said the local bourse could face persistent downside risks ahead, noting that the FBM KLCI came under pressure last week, sliding to as low as 1,484 on Wednesday before settling at 1,490 last Friday — down by 4.8 points or 0.3% compared to the previous week.
“Macro news is expected to hog the limelight in the holiday-shortened week ahead. The release of the June industrial production index data will start the ball rolling, to be followed by the July palm oil industry statistics on Wednesday.
“And on Friday, the focus will be on Bank Negara’s release of the second quarter 2021 gross domestic product report, which may also provide an update on the central bank’s latest economic outlook for the remainder of the year,” it said in a research note today.
Of the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd added three sen to RM8.01, Public Bank Bhd went up two sen to RM3.96, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd rose one sen to RM8, while Tenaga Nasional Bhd and IHH Healthcare Bhd advanced five sen each to RM9.66 and RM5.79, respectively.
Among the actives, Dagang NeXchange Bhd eased half-a-sen to 82 sen, Kejuruteraan Asastera Bhd slipped one sen to 54.5 sen, while Avillion Bhd added 1.5 sen to 15.5 sen and Hiap Teck Venture Bhd earned half-a-sen to 54.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 32.75 points higher at 10,986.85, the FBMT 100 Index perked 32.49 points to 10,696.12, the FBM 70 bagged 26.6 points to 14,585.78, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 19.93 points to 12,055.88.
The FBM ACE, however, declined 8.09 points to 7,167.89.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index went up 23.24 points to 14,727.7, the Plantation Index gave up 17.47 points for 6,107.98, while the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.41 of-a-point to 189.1.-BERNAMA