KUALA LUMPUR: The local equities market was in negative territory for the duration of the morning session as Asian market continued pulling back on negative global sentiment.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 3.28 points to 1,810.3. Trading volume was 1.16 billion shares valued at RM755.27mil.There were 321 gainers versus 356 decliners and 405 counters unchanged.
Telcos continued to weigh on the index, led by Axiata which dropped 13 sen to RM4.58, Digi which fell seven sen to RM4.62 and Maxis which slid two sen to RM5.75.
AmInvestment Research in its Tuesday report on the sector said it fell in danger of being de-rated should revenue continue its decline given the tight competition and decreasing subscriber base.
Bank stocks had a better morning session with Public Bank rising four sen to RM25.16, CIMB eding up one sen to RM6.11 and Hong Leong gaining 14 sen to RM20.54.
On the broader market, leading gainers were Carlsberg advancing 26 sen to RM20.30, Petron Malasia adding 21 sen to RM8.88 and BAT climbing 12 sen to RM33.44.
Laggards included Heineken, sliding 26 sen t RM21.34, United Plantation falling 18 sen to RM26.80 and Dutch Lady
slipping 14 sen to RM66.34.
US oil prices rose on Tuesday, breaking past US$70 per barrel, after two Gulf of Mexico oil platforms were evacuated in preparation for a hurricane, Reuters reported.
WTI crude added 25 cents to US$70.05 a barrel while Brent crude slipped eight cents to US$78.07 a barrel as India allowed state refiners to import Iranian oil if Tehran arranges and insures tankers.
In currencies, the ringgit was 0.2% weaker against the US dollar at 4.1363. It strengthened marginally against the pound sterling at 5.3203 and the Singapore dollar at 3.0120.
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