Bursa Malaysia Ends Morning Session Lower Amid Mixed Regional Sentiment
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower due to continuous selling in selected heavyweights and small-cap stocks amid mixed sentiment among regional peers.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 3.86 points to 1,580.98 compared with Tuesday’s close of 1,584.84.
The benchmark index opened 1.62 points lower at 1,583.22 and moved between 1,579.30 and 1,583.75 throughout the session.
In the broader market, decliners thumped gainers 589 to 265, while 465 counters were unchanged, 1,006 untraded and 10 suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.05 billion units worth RM1.25 billion.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said in a note today that the FBM KLCI index is expected to remain in the consolidation phase, with support at 1,566-1,575 and resistance at 1,600-1,614.
“This outlook holds as long as the benchmark continues to close below the key 1,590," it stated.
Investors are closely watching the February results season, ongoing geopolitical and trade tensions, the United States (US) Federal Reserve’s policy outlook and potential stimulus policies from China following President Xi Jinping's meeting with prominent entrepreneurs, the bank noted.
In addition, it said continued foreign net outflows have persisted for the fifth consecutive month in February, further weighing on market sentiment.
Of the heavyweight counters, Maybank decreased four sen to RM10.50, CIMB dropped nine sen to RM8.31, Tenaga Nasional fell eight sen to RM13.86 and IHH Healthcare eased one sen to RM7.27. In contrast, Public Bank increased one sen to RM4.51.
Among active counters, Hartalega slipped 14 sen to RM2.47, Ingenieur Gudang inched down half-a-sen to 5.5 sen, MYEG shed three sen to RM1.00, Top Glove slipped 2.5 sen to RM97.5, while Kinergy Advancement was flat at 32 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 40.60 points to 11,963.62, the FBMT 100 Index was 36.37 points lower at 11,679.97, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 37.74 points to 11,658.59.
The FBM 70 Index slashed 85.41 points to 17,451.78, and the FBM ACE Index trimmed 45.32 points to 5,029.17.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index deducted 51.89 points to 19,322.19, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.49 of-a-point to 162.61, the Plantation Index lost 3.44 points to 7,426.64, and the Energy Index erased 3.53 points to 788.25.
-- BERNAMA