Bursa Malaysia Stays Lower At Midday On Persistent Selling

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia stayed lower at midday on Thursday due to persistent selling in selected heavyweights, led by the utilities and financial services sectors.  

Tenaga Nasional fell 26 sen to RM12.58, while Public Bank and Maybank slid six sen each to RM4.38 and RM10.20, collectively shaving 5.95 points off the composite index.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was down 4.68 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 1,618.16, compared with Wednesday’s close of 1,622.84.

The benchmark index, which opened 1.79 points higher at 1,624.63, moved between 1,617.29 and 1,625.99 during the morning session.

The broader market was negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 320 to 266. A total of 742 counters were unchanged, 1,397 untraded, and seven suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.29 billion units, valued at RM1.19 billion.

In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said that with the US dollar on a weakening path, this points to a stronger ringgit environment, which would benefit domestic-driven sectors like REITs, consumer, banking, construction, and property.

“Nevertheless, we note that the glove sector has a healthy build-up in the trading volumes, forming a rounding bottom foundation with bullish divergence signals after trading near the 52-week low, and we anticipate a near-term rebound within the sector,” it said. 

Technically, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said that, despite near-term volatility, it remains constructive on the FBM KLCI’s prospects, with the index poised for a bullish triangle breakout, reinforced by the historically stronger December seasonality.

“A sustained close above immediate hurdles at the 1,622 (20-day moving average) and 1,643 (downtrend line) would pave the way for a retest of the year-to-date peak at 1,659.

“On the flip side, failure to clear these hurdles could see the index trapped in a triangle consolidation, with key support levels anchored at 1,600 and 1,591 (100-day moving average),” it added. 

Among other heavyweights, Petronas Gas shed 24 sen to RM17.24, CIMB gave up four sen to RM7.91, CelcomDigi was four sen lower at RM3.30, Telekom Malaysia added 25 sen to RM7.88, and IHH Healthcare gained four sen to RM8.31. 

On the most active list, Perak Transit and Tanco advanced two sen each to 28.5 sen and RM1.16, Zetrix AI perked up one sen to 82.5 sen, PSP Energy, which made its debut on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market today, eased half a sen to 15.5 sen, while Capital A was flat at 39 sen. 

Top gainers included Fraser & Neave, which rose 78 sen to RM35.90, Hong Leong Industries added 44 sen to RM16.34, while Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Kelington and Hong Leong Financial advanced 14 sen each to RM19.14, RM5.22 and RM17.88. 

Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries depreciated RM1.08 to RM31.40, Allianz Malaysia shaved 40 sen to RM20.10, Petronas Gas slipped 24 sen to RM17.24, Bintulu Port was 14 sen lower at RM5.35, and Ajinomoto eased 10 sen to RM13.70. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 11.70 points to 11,828.08, the FBM Mid 70 Index gained 26.95 points to 16,789.60, but the FBM ACE Index ticked down 7.34 points to 4,802.75, the FBM Emas Index declined 17.56 points to 11,984.20, and the FBMT 100 Index fell by 20.94 points to 11,764.45.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index strengthened 9.27 points to 8,107.34, the Energy Index firmed by 5.52 points to 755.47, the Financial Services Index dropped 92.15 points to 19,016.91, and the Industrial Products & Services Index edged down 0.62 of a point to 166.66.

-- BERNAMA