KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 (Bernama) -- Shares on Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session mixed, tracking regional trends amid ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East and continued volatility in oil prices.
The local bourse continued to see broad-based support, led by the banking, healthcare and construction sectors.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 4.30 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 1,713.06 from Tuesday’s close of 1,708.76.
The benchmark index opened 13.74 points higher at 1,722.50 and moved between 1,711.90 and 1,725.93 throughout the session.
Market breadth was negative, with 445 decliners outpacing 436 gainers. A total of 483 counters were unchanged, 1,382 untraded and 24 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.67 billion units valued at RM1.43 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd expects the risk-off environment to persist in the local bourse, likely favouring energy and chemical counters.
“Should Iran persist in its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping line can command higher spot rates and pass war-risk premiums on to charterers,” it said in a note.
Among heavyweights, Press Metal added 22 sen to RM7.53, Maybank and Sunway Healthcare rose 10 sen to RM11.44 and RM2.10, respectively, while Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM14.28, and Telekom Malaysia fell one sen to RM7.31.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI lost one sen to 72.5 sen, Borneo Oil and GDB were flat at half a sen and 37.5 sen, respectively, AirAsia X increased six sen to RM1.23 and Tanco went up three sen to RM1.44.
Of the top gainers, Hong Leong Financial added 28 sen to RM19.58, Hong Leong Industries increased 24 sen to RM17.06, UMS Integration rose 22 sen to RM4.82 and Sunway Construction grew 15 sen to RM6.60.
Top losers included United Plantations, which slid 32 sen to RM33.50, while Nestle went down 24 sen to RM98.20, Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 20 sen to RM19.62 and PPB reduced 16 sen to RM11.34.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index inched up 29.30 points to 12,312.97, the FBM Emas Shariah Index garnered 7.14 points to 12,1178.76, and the FBM Emas Index improved 30.08 points to 12,451.89.
The FBM 70 Index strengthened 33.05 points to 16,945.31, and the FBM ACE Index widened 20.87 points to 4,340.80.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index accumulated 0.28 of a point to 180.93 and the Financial Services Index surged 137.51 points to 20,518.45, while the Plantation Index decreased 72.25 points to 8,566.22 and the Energy Index reduced 4.67 points to 783.33.
-- BERNAMA
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