Bursa Malaysia mixed at midday on risk-off sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR:- Bursa Malaysia remained mixed at midday as selling in the broader market continued as investors were cautious amid downward pressure following a risk-off day for US stocks overnight.

At 12.30 pm, the benchmark index increased 2.43 points to 1,427.61 from Thursday’s close of 1,425.18.

The benchmark index opened marginally higher at 1,426.48 and moved in a narrow range between 1,425.04 and 1,429.92 throughout the session.

Decliners outpaced gainers 439 to 277, while 382 counters were unchanged, 1,163 untraded, and 32 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.59 billion units worth RM831.34 million.

ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves noted that Asian equities faced downward pressure on Friday following a risk-off day for US stocks, which traded mixed due to concerns about regional banks and softer-than-expected economic data.

He said the latest data releases, including a rise in US initial jobless claims, added to the overall gloomy sentiment.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng expects local equities to remain steady due to their cheap valuations and the strength of the local economy.

"Hence, we anticipate the benchmark index to trend higher within the range of 1,425-1,435 for today,” he said.

On the local bourse, heavyweights Maybank added one sen to RM8.75, CIMB rose four sen to RM4.99 and Tenaga Nasional increased 33 sen to RM9.42.

Public Bank was flat at RM4.01 while Petronas Chemicals lost seven sen to RM7.09.

Among the most active counters, Vinvest slid 3.5 sen to 16 sen, Dagang Nexchange fell four sen to 42 sen, Bahvest decreased one sen to 12 sen, while BSL Corp was flat at 5.0 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 9.27 points to 10,440.20, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 10.50 points to 10,138.02 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 13.81 points to 10,782.36.

The FBM ACE Index dwindled 76.14 points to 4,950.06 and the FBM 70 index eased 14.24 points to 13,495.71.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 1.13 points to 167.34 and the Energy Index erased 7.40 points to 824.41.

The Financial Services Index perked up 19.13 points to 15,607.35 and the Plantation Index climbed 33.80 points to 6,948.11. - Bernama