Bursa Malaysia Mixed At Midday

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia traded mixed at midday, with buying interest in heavyweights offset by widespread selling in small-cap stocks.

At 12:30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 0.003 per cent, or 0.05 of-a-point, to 1,606.71, slightly above Monday’s close of 1,606.66.

The benchmark index which opened 0.82 of-a-point easier at 1,605.84, fluctuated between 1,598.30 and 1,608.17 during the morning session.

On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 623 to 276, with 440 counters unchanged, 1,107 untraded and nine suspended.

Turnover amounted to 2.25 billion shares worth RM1.29 billion.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said buying interest has returned, but traders are expected to cautiously monitor upcoming important economic data.

“Technically, resistance is anticipated around 1,621 to 1,626, while support is set at 1,586 to 1,591,” it said in a note.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank remained flat at RM10.20, Public Bank fell 2.0 sen to RM4.24, Tenaga dropped 4.0 sen to RM13.90, CIMB rose 2.0 sen to RM7.38, IHH Healthcare increased 3.0 sen to RM6.28 and CelcomDigi added 1.0 sen to RM3.78.

Of the active counters, Cape EMS eased 4.0 sen to 46.5 sen, newly listed Sik Cheong gained 10.5 sen to 37.5 sen, while Barakah and Velesto were unchanged at 7.5 sen and 21 sen respectively, and Top Glove dipped 2.0 sen to 91.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 21.37 points to 12,233.85, the FBMT 100 Index dropped 15.51 points to 11,869, the FBM 70 Index decreased 81.59 points to 17,758.15, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 34.65 points to 12,367.69, and the FBM ACE Index eased 36.03 points to 5,411.25.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 11.15 points to 18,160.34, while the Energy Index recovered 0.07 of-a-point to 926.48.

The Industrial Products and Services Index fell 0.40 of-a-point to 181.12, the Technology Index dropped 0.58 of-a-point to 71.13, and the Plantation Index rose 9.16 points to 7,122.71.

-- BERNAMA