Bursa Malaysia Ends Morning Session Higher

By Zarul Effendi Razali

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session higher, in line with the regional stock market, supported by persistent buying in selected heavyweights, said an analyst.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 7.35 points to 1,583.69 from Friday’s close of 1,576.34.

The benchmark index had opened 1.92 points firmer at 1,578.26 and moved between 1,571.19 and 1,581.79 throughout the morning trading session.

Market breadth, however, remained slightly negative with 429 losers outpacing 406 gainers, while 435 counters were unchanged, 1,316 untraded and seven suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.43 billion units worth RM1.18 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng expected the index to trend between 1,570 and 1,580 today, as the local market sentiment may have turned cautious for the time being.

“Wall Street ended mixed as traders opted to lock in profits after a decent run-up on a weekly basis amid a dip in United States (US) consumer sentiment for August, affected by concerns about inflation.

“Though the index is still 20 points higher on a weekly basis last week, it is still disappointing that the index failed to test the 1,600 level,” he told Bernama today.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM9.80, Public Bank advanced 3.0 sen to RM4.48, CIMB gained 2.0 sen to RM7.27, IHH Healthcare added 7.0 sen to RM6.89, while Tenaga Nasional slipped 4.0 sen to RM13.58.

Among the most active counters, Velesto and Tanco were flat at 18.5 sen and 73 sen, respectively, Pharmaniaga eased half-a-sen to 17 sen, while YTL Power improved 14 sen to RM4.34.

Across the broader market, the FBM Emas Index increased 42.28 points to 11,773.34, the FBMT 100 Index secured 43.54 points to 11,556.40, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up 34.43 points to 11,689.28, and the FBM Mid 70 Index bagged 18.50 points to 16,679.18, but the FBM ACE Index declined 23.81 points to 4,689.64.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 44.05 points to 18,124.12, the Plantation Index perked 21.24 points to 7,525.27, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.70 of a point to 158.42, and the Energy Index trimmed 2.04 points to 738.79.

-- BERNAMA