Bursa Malaysia Ends Morning Session Lower, CI Down 0.21 Pct

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session on a negative note, taking a cue from Wall Street’s weaker overnight performance. 

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 3.40 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 1,634.28, compared with Monday’s close of 1,637.68.

The index had initially opened 0.75 of-a-point higher at 1,638.43 and moved within a range of 1,632.85 to 1,638.43 during the session.

On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 494 to 325, while 490 counters were unchanged, 1,080 untraded, and 43 suspended. 

Turnover stood at 1.33 billion units worth RM822.07 million.

Among heavyweights, CIMB added one sen to RM8.16, IHH Healthcare rose two sen to RM7.25, Petronas Chemicals put on five sen to RM5.15, while Hong Leong Bank and Press Metal were flat at RM20.42 and RM4.89, respectively. Maybank shed four sen to RM10.20, Public Bank declined one sen to RM4.53, and TNB lost six sen to RM14.78. 

Regarding active stocks, Velocity Capital edged up half-a-sen to 4.5 sen, Harvest Miracle advanced 1.5 sen to 15.5 sen, and Microlink went up 2.5 sen to 24 sen. Kinergy Advancement was flat at 34.5 sen, while MUI Properties gave up six sen to 37.5 sen.  

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index went down 22.75 points to 12,535.17, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 26.24 points to 12,552.60, and the FBMT 100 Index shed 22.27 points to 12,214.91. 

The FBM 70 Index trimmed 22.83 points to 18,796.40, while the FBM ACE Index dipped 13.05 points to 5,332.82. 

By sector,  the Plantation Index expanded by 17.20 points to 7,636.35, and the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.13 of-a-point to 176.12. The Financial Services Index sank 21.25 points to 19,085.66, and the Energy Index edged down 0.06 of-a-point to 824.48.

-- BERNAMA