Bursa Malaysia Up At Midday, Led By Banking, Industrial Stocks
KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index ended the morning trading session higher, supported by continued buying interest in heavyweights, particularly banking and industrial products counters, amid improved sentiment following the renewed US-Iran ceasefire.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 8.06 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 1,718.45 from Wednesday’s close of 1,710.39.
The FBM KLCI, which opened 5.16 points higher at 1,715.55, traded between 1,714.41 and 1,722.23 points during the morning session.
Market breadth was positive with gainers surpassing losers 557 to 447, while 557 counters were unchanged, 1,210 untraded, and 43 suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.04 billion units, valued at RM1.37 billion.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said that tracking Wall Street’s positive performance, it expects the FBM KLCI to rebound today.
“Meanwhile, buying interest in glove makers remains evident as the double blockade in the Strait of Hormuz disrupts the procurement of raw materials, leading to a higher glove average selling price,” it said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added two sen to RM11.24, Public Bank gained nine sen to RM4.85, Tenaga Nasional rose four sen to RM14.56, CIMB Group advanced eight sen to RM7.82, and IHH Healthcare improved three sen to RM8.84.
On the most active list, ACE Market debutant AMS Advanced Material was unchanged at 29 sen, Zetrix AI slipped half-a-sen to 85.5 sen, AirAsia X declined seven sen to RM1.23, NexG rose half-a-sen to 32 sen, and Velesto Energy was flat at 33 sen.
Among the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries surged 98 sen to RM36.62, Kelington Group advanced 30 sen to RM5.99, Apollo Food climbed 16 sen to RM5.94, UMS Integration rose 16 sen to RM6.19, and Hong Leong Financial gained 16 sen to RM19.30.
Of the top losers, Nestle shed 44 sen to RM98.30, Fraser & Neave fell 36 sen to RM30.56, United Plantations dropped 32 sen to RM33.40, MISC declined 22 sen to RM8.08, and Hong Leong Industries eased 16 sen to RM17.42.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 68.36 points to 12,521.95, the FBM Emas Index gained 63.59 points to 12,681.61, the FBM Mid 70 Index advanced 139.55 points to 17,974.82, the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 38.08 points to 12,519.27, and the FBM ACE Index added 1.90 points to 4,623.45.
By sector, the Financial Services Index climbed 152.79 points to 20,305.74, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.82 points to 187.70, the Energy Index jumped 6.74 points to 828.78, and the Plantation Index slid 19.25 points to 8,892.38.
-- BERNAMA
