KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 30): Bursa Malaysia turned mixed at the end of the morning session amid a positive trend in the regional markets, as mild profit-taking in selected heavyweights erased part of the earlier gains, dealers said.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was up 0.24% or 3.78 points at 1,593.94 compared with Friday’s close of 1,590.16.
The index opened 3.03 points better at 1,593.19 and moved between 1,592.1 and 1,604.56 throughout the morning session.
On the broader market, losers surpassed gainers 483 to 425, while 468 counters were unchanged, 870 untraded and 50 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.4 billion units worth RM1.45 billion.
Technically speaking, Kenanga Research said that following the faster-than-anticipated rebound last week, the FBM KLCI could be digesting its recent gains first amid profit-taking temptations.
“Still, given the improved market sentiment, the existence of renewed buying interest is expected to provide support for the market bellwether in the near term,” it said in a research note today.
Of the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd gained five sen to RM8.42, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd jumped 12 sen to RM8.32, Tenaga Nasional Bhd went up six sen to RM10.44, and IHH Healthcare Bhd leapt nine sen to RM6.44; but Public Bank Bhd slipped seven sen to RM4.11.
Among the actives, KNM Group Bhd was flat at 26 sen, Bintai Kinden Corp Bhd increased 10 sen to 47.5 sen, AE Multi Holdings Bhd improved half-a-sen to 4.5 sen, and Hiap Teck Venture Bhd advanced two sen to 56.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index strengthened 20.91 points to 11,581.44, the FBMT 100 Index was 21.96 points firmer at 11,295.34, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 33.37 points higher at 12,712.73.
The FBM 70 perked 10.15 points to 14,980.49 while the FBM ACE rose 4.71 points to 7,219.58.
Sector wise, the Plantation Index decreased 13.06 points to 6,760.62 while the Financial Services Index added 9.34 points to 15,496.24 and the Industrial Products and Services Index gained 1.44 points to 198.-BERNAMA