FBM KLCI Ends Morning Session Higher

KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 (Bernama) -- The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) ended the morning session higher today, buoyed by renewed buying interest in selected blue chips, despite cautious sentiment amid heightened geopolitical tensions.

At 12.30 pm, the benchmark index rose 6.61 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 1,509.35 compared with Friday’s close of 1,502.74.

The FBM KLCI, which opened 9.55 points lower at 1,493.19, fell as low as 1,488.89 in early trade before climbing to a high of 1,509.77 towards lunch break.

However, the broader market was negative with decliners trouncing gainers 730 to 175, while 412 counters were unchanged, 1,115 untraded and 39 suspended.  

Turnover stood at 2.04 billion units worth RM960.69 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East may spur buying interest in gold and oil and gas-related counters.

“Despite the ongoing tensions, we remain positive on the construction and utility sectors, as the former benefits from public infrastructure developments and data centre investments across the country while the latter is supported by Tenaga Nasional’s power grid upgrades,” it said.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank edged up one sen to RM9.67, Tenaga Nasional gained 12 sen to RM14.34, Public Bank added five sen to RM4.26, CIMB garnered six sen to RM6.71 and IHH Healthcare was flat at RM6.85.

As for the most active stocks, PUC, MYEG and Dnonce Technology all remained unchanged at two sen, 90.5 sen and three sen, respectively, while Reservoir Link rose half-a-sen to 37.5 sen.  

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index notched up 12.62 points to 11,241.61, the FBMT 100 Index increased 18.95 points to 11,034.40, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 2.25 points to 11,203.59.

However, the FBM 70 Index shrank 101.68 points to 16,016.07 and the FBM ACE Index fell 42.27 points to 4,358.58.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index advanced 30.15 points to 17,498.53 and the Energy Index edged up 9.28 points to 744.99, while the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 0.45 of-a-point to 146.82 and the Plantation Index dipped 8.67 points to 7,211.85.

-- BERNAMA