BURSA MALAYSIA ENDS MORNING SESSION LOWER
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower as investors took profits and remained cautious ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting tomorrow.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 0.23 per cent or 3.82 points to 1,604.93 from last Friday’s close of 1,608.75.
The index opened 0.13 of-a-point higher at 1,608.88 and moved between 1,603.92 and 1,609.43 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was also negative as losers led gainers 624 to 335, while 472 counters were unchanged, 1,044 untraded and 16 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.91 billion units valued at RM1.15 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said despite the mixed sentiment in the United States (US), it expects the local bourse to
trade on a more robust tone, with traders focusing on stocks linked to the data centre supply chain, technology and banking sectors to be the primary beneficiaries of the stronger US dollar environment.
"Also, we like healthcare, specifically gloves as we expect the earnings to grow moving forward.
Meanwhile, we are also optimistic about East Malaysia-related stocks, supported by recovering share prices and anticipated fund inflows into the region," it said in a note.
On the technical front, it anticipates the FBM KLCI's resistance to be around 1,623-1,628, level and support level at 1,588-1,593.
Among other heavyweights, PPB Group slipped 34 sen to RM12.24, YTL Power International fell 8.0 sen to RM3.61, Nestle shaved RM1.30 to RM98.70, IHH Healthcare shed 8.0 sen to RM7.09 and PChem trimmed 5.0 sen to RM4.92.
Meanwhile, of the most active stocks, TopVision Eye Specialist rose 2.5 sen to 35.5 sen. The company made a strong debut on the ACE Market at 39 sen per share, notching an 18.2 per cent premium over its issue price of 33 sen.
The successful debut of the medical eye care services player on the ACE Market marked its official transfer from the LEAP Market, where it was listed in 2018.
Also among the most active stocks were MYEG which increased 1.5 sen to 96 sen, Supermax eased 1.0 sen to RM1.09, Hubline shed half-a-sen to 6.0 sen and Top Glove declined by 4.0 sen to RM1.37.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gave up 42.79 points to 12,313.28, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell by 36.79 points to 12,335.40, the FBM ACE Index dropped 11.21 points to 5,298.95.
The FBMT 100 Index decreased by 41.87 points to 11,995.41, the FBM 70 Index slid 112.99 points to 18,459.22.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index eased by 58.14 points to 19,059.29, the Industrial Products and Services Index declined 0.83 of-a-point to 174.94, but the Plantation Index gained 18.25 points to 7,653.30 while the Energy Index trimmed 1.48 points to 818.52.
-- BERNAMA
