Bursa Malaysia Lower At Midday

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained lower at mid-day, tracking regional markets after Wall Street’s subdued overnight performance. 

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 0.19 per cent or 3.09 points to 1,596.49 from Wednesday’s close of 1,599.58. 

The index opened 4.40 points lower at 1,595.18 and moved between 1,590.83 and 1,598.67 throughout the morning session. 

The broader market was negative as decliners thumped gainers 729 to 269, while 444 counters were unchanged, 1,030 untraded and 49 suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.80 billion units worth RM1.43 billion. 

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said although the negative sentiment has spilt over into the local stock market, it believed export-oriented stocks within the gloves and technology sectors might benefit from a stronger US dollar index following the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate outlook, which suggests a slower easing cycle.

“Also, we remain positive on stocks related to the data centre supply chain and anticipate that the sub-utility and building material segments would trade on a positive trend, at least in the near term,” it said in a note. 

On the technical front, Malacca Securities said resistance is anticipated around 1,614 to 1,619 points, and support is set at 1,579 to 1,584. 

Among heavyweight counters, Nestle fell RM3.22 to RM95.78, Petronas Chemicals shed 9.0 sen to RM4.72,  MISC dropped 14 sen to RM7.36, IOI Corporation slid 8.0 sen to RM3.78, PPB was 34 sen lower at RM11.78, and Maybank declined 4.0 sen to RM10.08. 

Regarding the most active stocks, ACE Market debutant Winstar Capital rose 16 sen to 51 sen, YTL Corporation gained 21 sen to RM2.35, Supermax rose 2.0 sen to RM1.24, Top Glove edged up 1.0 sen to RM1.39 and YTL Power International increased 24 sen to RM3.90.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 84.76 points to 12,237.73, the FBM Emas Index slid 33.76 points to 12,247.03, and the FBMT 100 Index trimmed 27.83 points to 11,937.59.

The FBM 70 Index fell 60.23 points to 18,389.40, and the FBM ACE Index decreased by 32.12 points to 5,214.32.

By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index shaved 1.90 points to 170.59, the Energy Index dropped 7.38 points to 807.93, the Plantation Index erased 61.63 points to 7,571.13, and the Financial Services Index dipped 26.93 points to 18,869.25.

-- BERNAMA