KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session slightly higher, supported by continued buying interest in selected heavyweight counters, particularly in the financial, utilities, and industrial products and services sectors.
At 12.30 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 1.54 points to 1,667.45 from Monday’s close of 1,665.91.
The index opened 1.37 points higher at 1,667.28 and moved between an intraday low of 1,661.80 and a high of 1,669.88 during the session.
Market breadth remained negative, with 422 decliners leading 406 gainers, while 513 counters were unchanged, 1,349 counters untraded, and 79 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.42 billion units worth RM938.23 million.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB) said the FBM KLCI is likely to remain volatile in the near term, with sentiment hinging on the outcome of the US-Iran ceasefire talks today following days of tit-for-tat attacks.
On the domestic front, HLIB said sentiment is expected to remain subdued due to the absence of new market drivers, continued foreign fund outflows, and heightened political uncertainties amid ongoing speculation surrounding the 16th general election.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank rose six sen to RM10.86, and Tenaga Nasional added four sen to RM14.30, while Public Bank and CIMB were flat at RM4.79 and RM7.45, respectively, while8 IHH fell three sen to RM8.37.
Of the active counters, Zetrix AI perked up one sen to 77 sen, Dagang Nexchange
and Velesto were half a sen lower at 41.5 sen and 26.5 sen, respectively, Liftech erased 3.5 sen to 25.5 sen, and Tanco inched up half a sen to 15 sen.
On the top gainers’ list, Malaysian Pacific Industries climbed 72 sen to RM49.82, Apollo surged 27 sen to RM6.12, Chin Teck put on 20 sen to RM11.10, Vitrox increased 22 sen to RM7.75, and United Plantations rose 30 sen to RM32.96.
Among the top losers, Batu Kawan dropped 82 sen to RM20.62, F&N slipped 22 sen to RM27.64, Allianz trimmed 30 sen to RM21.00, Dynafront tumbled 20 sen to 80 sen, and Press Metal fell 16 sen to RM7.62.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index was 13.29 points higher at 12,393.20, the FBM Top 100 Index added 15.44 points to 12,228.53, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 12.66 points to 12,265.18.
The FBM Mid 70 Index went up 40.18 points to 17,888.90 and the FBM ACE Index added 17.16 points to 4,806.45.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose by 17.28 points to 19,690.31, the Energy Index edged down 0.05 of a point to 747.55, the Plantation Index slid 1.58 points to 8,824.06, and the Industrial Products and Services Index trimmed 1.08 points to 180.29. - Bernama
