Bursa Malaysia Rises Above 1,600 Mark At Midday

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia stopped for the midday break in upbeat mode, rising above the 1,600-point level as investors bought selected heavyweight stocks in industrial products and services, utilities, telecommunications and media.

Press Metal Aluminium surged 28 sen, or 6.4 per cent, to RM4.68, Tenaga Nasional rose 18 sen to RM14.38, and Maxis added 12.0 sen to RM3.56. These stocks contributed a combined 7.30 points to the composite index.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) ) rose 10.79 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 1,603.23 from Friday’s close of 1,592.44.

The benchmark index had opened 0.47 of a point higher at 1,592.91 and moved between 1,591.49 and 1,605.41 throughout the morning trading session. 

However, the broader market showed mixed sentiment, with decliners outpacing gainers by 476 to 392 while 480 counters remained unchanged, 1,109 were untraded, and 15 were suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.89 billion shares valued at RM1.05 billion.

However, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd advises caution, with the brokerage expecting Asian stocks to start the week on a softer note as investors price in the potential impact of Trump’s tariffs and a slower interest rate easing cycle expected in 2025. “This week, traders will monitor key events, including a speech by the Bank of Japan governor; NVIDIA’s earnings release; the G20 Summit in Brazil; and China’s loan prime rate announcements,” it said in a note today.  

Technically, Malacca Securities said “the resistance level is envisaged at around 1,607-1,612 (points)  and the support is set at 1,572-1,577.” 

Among other heavyweight stocks, CelcomDigi added four sen to RM3.37, Sunway gained 8.0 sen to RM4.72 and Hong Leong Financial Group jumped 34 sen to RM18.56. However, Petronas Chemicals eased 3.0 sen to RM4.53 and MISC was down by 4.0 sen to RM7.56.

As for the active stocks, Top Glove added 2.0 sen to RM1.12, Johor Plantations gained 4.0 sen to RM1.37 but Cape EMS lost 1.0 sen to 38.5 sen. Classita and Harvest Miracle Capital were half-a-sen lower at 6.0 sen and 8.0 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index widened by 74.86 points to 12,098.16, the FBM Emas Index rose 58.11 points to 12,163.43 and the FBMT 100 Index gained 61.78 points to 11,867.98.

The FBM ACE Index picked up by 1.13 points to 5,148.29, and the FBM 70 Index climbed 26.49 points to 17,845.37.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index bagged 2.04 points to 170.31, the Financial Services Index was 51.63 points better at 19,208.47, and the Plantation Index bounced 56.29 points to 7,682.47. However, the Energy Index weakened 1.48 points to 825.69.

-- BERNAMA