Bursa Malaysia Remains Lower At Midday On Selling Pressure

KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained lower at midday on selling pressure in selected utilities, plantation, telecommunications, and media stocks.

 At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 9.27 points, or 0.60 per cent, to 1,549.64 from yesterday’s close of 1,558.91. 

Tenaga Nasional fell 12 sen to RM13.74, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slid 60 sen to RM20.50 and Maxis erased eight sen to RM3.42. These counters dragged the composite index down by a combined 3.38 points. 

The FBM KLCI, which opened 3.16 points lower at 1,555.75, moved between 1,548.06 and 1,556.46 during the morning trading session.

The broader market was negative, with decliners beating advancers 490 to 288, with 414 counters unchanged, 1,178 untraded, and 15 suspended. 

Turnover stood at 1.35 billion shares worth RM1.0 billion.

Despite sell-offs in banking stocks yesterday, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said in a note today that it views this as a potential buying opportunity.

“Since the overnight policy rate (OPR) remains unchanged, banks’ net interest margins are expected to stay stable, supporting steady earnings.

“Banking stocks also offer consistent dividend payouts, making them attractive long-term investments,” it said. 

Meanwhile, the brokerage firm opined that the US$250 million partnership with Arm Holdings Plc to drive Malaysia’s second semiconductor wave will benefit the entire semiconductor value chain.

“We remain bullish on Itmax System and Time dotCom for their resilient business models and steady earnings growth,” it added.

As for the other heavyweights, Public Bank reduced three sen to RM4.56, MISC, shrank one sen to RM7.22, YTL Corporation trimmed five sen to RM1.83, but Maybank and CelcomDigi perked up by two sen each to RM10.58 and RM3.57, respectively.

As for the actives, Oppstar gained 9.5 sen to 57 sen, KeyASIC inched up half-a-sen to 4.5 sen, Dagang NeXchange put on 3.5 sen to 31.5 sen, NationGate slid eight sen to RM1.34, while NexG was flat at 26.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index narrowed 62.37 points to 11,540.97, the FBM 70 Index ticked down 82.73 points to 16,381.69.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 85.01 points to 11,214.92, the FBM ACE Index reduced 19.86 points to 4,576.99, and the FBMT 100 Index decreased 64.84 points to 11,315.46.

By sector, the Plantation Index dwindled 85.64 points to 7,481.22, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.85 of-a-point lower at 155.80, the Financial Services Index slipped 29.57 points to 19,043.90, and the Energy Index depreciated 5.63 points to 717.97.

Meanwhile, in a Bursa Malaysia filing, Lim Seong Hai Capital Bhd has requested that trading in the company's shares be suspended effective from 2.30 pm, today until the completion of the transfer of listing from LEAP Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd to ACE Market. 

-- BERNAMA