FBM KLCI Higher At Midday In Line With Most Regional Peers

By Zufazlin Binti Baharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- The benchmark FBM KLCI remained in positive territory at midday in line with most regional peers.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 2.36 points to 1,600.59 from last Friday’s close of 1,598.23.

The benchmark index opened marginally higher at 1,599.78 and moved between 1,596.46 and 1,601.67 throughout the morning session.

Nevertheless, market breadth was negative with losers edging gainers 495 to 381 while 456 counters were unchanged, 1,317 untraded and 24 suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.56 billion units worth RM973.41 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama that the market is consolidating with strong buying in construction and banking stocks.

However, he noted that the RON95 subsidy rationalisation announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today may cause a mild positive reaction in consumer, retail or transportation-related stocks but is unlikely to move the entire FBM KLCI index significantly.

Under the BUDI MADANI RON95 (BUDI95) programme, the price of RON95 petrol has been reduced to RM1.99 per litre, from RM2.05 per litre, effective Sept 30.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added five sen to RM9.85, Public Bank rose two sen to RM4.26,  Tenaga Nasional gained six sen to RM13.44, CIMB Group edged up three sen to RM7.26 and IHH Healthcare inched up four sen to RM7.37.

In active trade, VS Industry strengthened 3.5 sen to 63 sen, Pharmaniaga was flat at 26.5 sen, Tanco Holdings added 1.5 sen to 86.5 sen, NexG perked up one sen to 50 sen while Zetrix AI slid half-a-sen to 86.5 sen.

Top gainers include Nestle, which recouped RM1.72 to RM96.44, while KESM Industries gained 34 sen to RM3.21, Allianz Malaysia firmed 48 sen to RM18.08, Scientex was eight sen higher at RM3.50 and Dufu Technology Corp accumulated 13 sen to RM1.53.

As for the top losers, Petronas Dagangan slid 74 sen to RM22.26, Petronas Gas slipped 20 sen to RM18.30, Dutch Lady Milk Industries depreciated 18 sen to RM27.20, Kuala Lumpur Kepong ticked down 10 sen to RM20.04 and SAM Engineering and Equipment shed 11 sen to RM3.99.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index added 16.77 points to 11,913.20, the FBMT 100 Index rose 17.77 points to 11,665.08, and the FBM ACE Index gained 19.38 points to 4,934.81 and the FBM 70 Index inched up 28.16 points to 16,771.56.

However, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 0.94 of-a-point to 11,962.43.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 62.27 points to 18,065.57 and the Energy Index gained 0.05 of-a-point to 755.37, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.01 of-a-point to 168.10 and the Plantation Index shaved off 0.65 points to 7,743.69.

-- BERNAMA