Bursa Malaysia Higher At Midday

By Zarul Effendi Razali

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session higher, supported by persistent buying in selected utilities, as well as industrial products and services counters, amid cautious sentiment in the regional markets, said an analyst.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 7.98 points to 1,592.94 from Monday’s close of 1,584.96.

The benchmark index had opened 2.47 points firmer at 1,587.43 and moved between 1,584.62 and 1,594.40 throughout the morning trading session.

Market breadth was positive with 438 gainers leading 411 losers, while 474 counters were unchanged, 1,263 untraded and six suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.59 billion units worth RM1.34 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the local benchmark index is expected to hover within the 1,580-1,590 range today, amid cautious global sentiment.

“Wall Street closed flat as traders were mostly sidelined ahead of Jerome Powell’s speech during the US Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole summit later this week.

“Meanwhile, we noticed crude palm oil (CPO) price is ascending nicely to above the RM4,500 a tonne as demand from India escalates. Whether this is sustainable remains to be seen,” he told Bernama today.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank and IHH Healthcare added 3.0 sen each to RM9.81 and RM6.85, Public Bank improved 1.0 sen to RM4.47, Tenaga Nasional jumped 20 sen to RM13.82 and CIMB gained 5.0 sen to RM7.38.

Among the most active counters, Velesto and TWL earned half-a-sen to 19 sen and 3.0 sen respectively, while Tanco eased half-a-sen to 73 sen and Zetrix fell 3.0 sen to 87 sen.

Across the broader market, the FBM Emas Index increased 50.92 points to 11,829.72, the FBMT 100 Index secured 53.27 points to 11,615.86, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up 52.32 points to 11,745.95 and the FBM Mid 70 Index bagged 54.90 points to 16,729.47, while the FBM ACE Index declined 14.56 points to 4,699.66.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 62.15 points to 18,192.52, the Plantation Index trimmed 1.94 points to 7,532.82, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.86 of a point to 159.21, and the Energy Index added 10.37 points to 748.72.

-- BERNAMA