BURSA MALAYSIA FLATTISH IN EARLY SESSION AMID WEAKER WALL STREET PERFORMANCE

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s key index was flattish in early trading on Friday on the back of a weaker broader market, taking the cue from a negative Wall Street performance overnight.   

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 0.14 of-a-point to 1,633.95 from Thursday's close of 1,633.81.  

The index opened 0.25 of-a-point higher at 1,634.06.  

In the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 328 to 149, with 338 counters unchanged, 1,643 untraded and 16 suspended.

Turnover totalled 238.69 million units worth RM137.88 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the ongoing correction on Wall Street might see heightened volatility within the region and he expected the benchmark index to gyrate within a narrow range of between 1,630 and 1,640 today.

"The FBM KLCI ended flat on Thursday and managed to stay above the crucial 1,630 level due to some late buying activities. It is apparent that the market undertone remains solid as we anticipate accumulation of stocks to persist,” he added. 

 Of the heavyweights, Maybank gained two sen to RM10.12, Press Metal advanced nine sen to RM5.59, Hong Leong Bank and YTL Corp both increased four sen to RM19.04 and RM3.64 respectively, Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM14.44 and RM6.34, while Public Bank eased one sen to RM4.24 and CIMB shed two sen to RM7.13. 

Among the most active counters, Sarawak Consolidated gained two sen to 30 sen, Sin-Kung Logistics and Ahmad Zaki Resources edged up half-a-sen to 18 sen and 34 sen, Haily Group appreciated 6.5 sen to 83.5 sen, IFCA MSC went up two sen to 80 sen, Dataprep was flat at 23 sen and MYEG inched down half-a-sen to 99.5 sen. 

On the index front, the FBM Emas Index decreased by 12.65 points to 12,663.77, the FBMT 100 Index erased 9.56 points to 12,237.12, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went down 21.83 points to 13,031.46, the FBM 70 Index fell 53.29 points to 18,923.41 and the FBM ACE Index weakened 14.14 points to 5,984.96. 

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index discounted 11.98 points to 17,988.25, the Energy Index slid 1.24 point to 971.02, the Plantation Index perked 12.27 points to 7,113.67, and the Industrial Products and Services Index put on 0.12 of-a-point to 196.95. 

-- BERNAMA