KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed the morning trading session 0.42 per cent higher, lifted by bargain hunting in selected heavyweights after trading bearish for most of last week.
At 12.30 pm, the FBM KLCI rose 7.12 points to 1,693.86 from Friday’s close of 1,686.74.
The benchmark index, which opened 0.09 of a point lower at 1,686.65, moved between 1,682.49 and 1,695.95 throughout the session.
Market breadth, however, was negative, with losers outpacing gainers 659 to 367. A total of 462 counters were unchanged, 1,352 untraded and 26 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.93 billion shares worth RM1.31 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said global markets will focus on the upcoming United States Federal Open Market Committee meeting and the Bank of Japan’s interest rate decision this week.
The stockbroking firm expects the benchmark index to remain cautious, amidst the shortened local trading week.
"The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index experienced a pullback below the 200-day moving average and the 1,700-point level, with technical indicators showing weakening signals.
"The Moving Average Convergence Divergence histogram is trading in negative territory, while the Relative Strength Index is moving towards 30,” it said in a note today.
As such, the stockbroking firm said key resistance is likely at 1,701-1,706 points, with support expected around 1,666-1,671 points.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose eight sen to RM10.46, Public Bank edged up three sen to RM4.83, CIMB advanced seven sen to RM7.86, Tenaga Nasional added six sen each to RM13.66 and IHH Healthcare recovered 11 sen to RM7.76.
As for the top actives, Zetrix AI, Top Glove, AHB and Ni Hsin
gained one sen each to 26 sen, 81 sen, 6.5 sen and 28.5 sen, respectively, and Supermax increased half a sen to 42.5 sen.
Hong Leong Bank led the top gainers, rising 30 sen to RM23.38, while Hong Leong Industries gained 24 sen to RM16.96, Henyuan Refining strengthened 21 sen to RM3.45, BLD Plantation grew 18 sen to RM15 and Petronas Chemical was 15 sen stronger at RM5.24.
Of the top losers, Allianz Malaysia decreased 68 sen to RM21.50, Malaysian Pacific Industries slid 62 sen to RM40.08, UWC eased 27 sen to RM6.33, Kelington inched down 26 sen to RM8.20 and UMS Integration declined 25 sen to RM8.05.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index lost 72.01 points to 17,656.63, while the FBM ACE Index fell 34.02 points to 5,226.21.
The FBM Emas Index gained 24.54 points to 12,534.74, the FBM Top 100 Index advanced 26.23 points to 12,331.87, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index inched up 0.36 of a point to 12,397.17.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.35 of a point to 189.13, and the Energy Index gained 1.32 points to 815.75.
The Financial Services Index expanded 110.76 points to 19,732.97, and the Plantation Index increased 10.12 points to 9,446.14. - Bernama
