Bursa Malaysia In Positive Territory At Midday
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session higher today, supported by the strengthening ringgit amid improving investor sentiment.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 6.58 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 1,631.15 from last Monday’s close of 1,624.57.
The benchmark index, which opened 2.50 points firmer at 1,627.07, moved between 1,626.59 and 1,634.35 during the morning trading session.
The broader market, however, was slightly negative, with decliners beating gainers 475 to 429. A total of 482 counters were unchanged, 1,302 untraded, and 10 suspended.
Turnover reached 2.14 billion units, valued at RM1.60 billion.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it continues to expect Bank Negara Malaysia to keep the overnight policy rate at 2.75 per cent, a stance that could help strengthen the ringgit.
It said the local bourse should also be supported in part by ongoing window-dressing activities.
“These factors are likely to favour domestic-driven sectors, particularly banking, consumer, REIT, and property counters,” it added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 29 sen to RM10.26, Public Bank added six sen to RM4.42, CIMB Group improved eight sen to RM8.03, Tenaga Nasional fell 34 sen to RM12.98, and IHH Healthcare edged up two sen to RM8.42.
On the most active list, Capital A jumped 16.5 sen to 41 sen, Genting Malaysia slipped 10 sen to RM2.25, Tanco Holdings eased three sen to RM1.13, while Zetrix AI shed half-a-sen to 81 sen, and Velesto Energy inched up half-a-sen to 23 sen.
Top gainers included Nestle, which surged RM4.40 to RM116.00, Fraser & Neave climbed 88 sen to RM35.76, Allianz Malaysia firmed 36 sen to RM19.86, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 20 sen to RM19.30, and Petronas Gas added 20 sen to RM17.70.
Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries declined 36 sen to RM31.00, United Plantations dropped 36 sen to RM28.02, PPB Group slipped 28 sen to RM10.30, Chin Teck Plantations eased 28 sen to RM10.72, and Gamuda gave up 20 sen to RM5.10.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 25.12 points to 12,023.99, and the FBMT 100 Index added 27.49 points to 11,817.75.
Meanwhile, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 57.78 points to 11,845.68, the FBM ACE Index declined 72.86 points to 4,759.05, while the FBM Mid 70 Index shed 49.38 points to 16,686.45.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index jumped 297.38 points to 19,082.83, and the Plantation Index improved 40.56 points to 8,074.48, while the Energy Index slipped 2.43 points to 747.02, and the Industrial Products & Services Index eased 1.03 points to 164.93.
-- BERNAMA
