KUALA LUMPUR: The local benchmark index changed trajectories on Wednesday morning, making another crossing of the 1,750 psychological level in intra-day trade but ending its session at midday just under.
Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday, as Wall Street eased overnight on the back of the US tax reform passing in congress. While a positive catalyst for corporate earnings and the economy, observers say the news had already been priced in over a weeks-long rally.
At midday. the FBM KLCI rose 12.24 points to 1,749.19 points. Turnover was 1.36 billion shares with a value of RM969.22mil. Market breadth was positive with 302 advancers versus 256 decliners and 559 counters unchanged.
Financial counters lifted the index, led by CIMB rising 20 sen to RM6.45 and Public Bank adding 36 sen to RM20.82. The two counters added a combined 5.33 points to the KLCI.
Hong Leong Bank also gained 10 sen to RM16.96 and Maybank moved one sen higher to RM9.50.
Among telcos, Digi added two sen to RM4.84, Axiata gained two sen to RM5.37, Telekom Malaysia rose eight sen to RM6.12 but Maxis slipped one sen to RM5.92.
The plantations sector showed mixed results with Sime Darby Plantations gaining 11 sen to RM5.41 and IOI putting on three sen to RM4.37. However, KL Kepong fell four sen to RM24.52.
Genting shares lent a lift, with Genting adding eight sen to RM8.91 and Genting Malaysia pushing up nine sen to RM5.48.
On the wider market, glovemakers reclaimed the spotlight, led by Top Glove, which announced stellar earnings the previous day.
The world's largest manufacturer of latex gloves gained 49 sen to RM7.97, while Hartalega
added 40 sen to RM11.12, Kossan rose 12 sen to RM8.42 and Supermax added 10 sen to RM2.03.
Far East continued its decline on Bursa Malaysia, slipping 28 sen to RM8.72. CCM fell 12 sen to RM1.79 while Carlsberg dropped six sen to RM15.24.
The ongoing outage in the North Sea pipeline continued to prop up crude oil prices.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 17 cents to US$57.73 a barrel while Brent crude added 13 cents to US$63.88 a barrel.
In currencies, the ringgit strengthened 0.15% against the greenback at 4.0750. It was little changed against the Singapore dollar at 3.0249, and the pound sterling at 5.4572.
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