KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia’s composite index hovered lower at the midday break, weighed down by profit-taking in telecommunications, consumer products and utilities heavyweight counters.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 10.47 points to 1,576.60 from Thursday’s close of 1,587.07.
The index opened 0.24 of-a-point lower at 1,586.83 and moved between 1,575.21 and 1,587.30 throughout the morning trading session.
On the broader market, 649 decliners outpaced 254 gainers, while 404 counters were unchanged, with 1,290 untraded and 66 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.90 billion units worth RM1.29 billion.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said given the S&P 500 hitting a record high, it expects the FBM KLCI to trade on a positive note despite the long weekend break.
"The key focus is likely on the technology sector. Meanwhile, we continue to favour the construction and utilities sectors, underpinned by nationwide infrastructure developments such as the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JSSEZ) and Penang LRT line, data centre investments and Tenaga Nasional’s grid upgrades,” it said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank contracted three sen to RM9.92, Tenaga Nasional eased 12 sen to RM13.32, while CIMB Group
added one sen to RM7.46. Public Bank and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM4.28 and RM6.79, respectively.
As for the most active counters, CBH Engineering shaved off half-a-sen to 33.5 sen, while Samaiden Group added two sen to RM1.19, and SKB Shutters, Sealink International and Hextar Global climbed half-a-sen to 88.5 sen, 16.5 sen and 90 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 72.35 points to 11,708.29, the FBMT 100 Index fell 73.18 points to 11,480.11, the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 100.40 points to 11,647.31, the FBM 70 Index slid 91.35 points to 16,460.84, and the FBM ACE Index decreased 33.03 points to 4,709.57.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 28.76 points to 18,146.68, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.93 of-a-point to 162.28, the Energy Index weakened 4.44 points to 741.61, and the Plantation Index trimmed 21.10 points to 7,590.80. - Bernama
