BURSA MALAYSIA SETTLES LOWER AT MIDDAY

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session in negative territory due to profit-taking in selected heavyweights, primarily dragged down by plantation counters.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 5.55 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 1,609.28 compared with Wednesday’s close of 1,614.83. 

 The index had opened 3.34 points firmer at 1,618.17 and traded between 1,605.39 and 1,618.17 during the morning session. 

On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 716 to 232, with 469 counters unchanged, 953 untraded and 10 suspended. Turnover totalled 1.97 billion units worth RM1.46 billion.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd anticipates the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to sustain positive investment sentiment in the near term.

The brokerage said this optimism is underpinned by ongoing foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and data centre developments, even amid widespread selling pressure.

“Besides, we remain optimistic about Penang-related counters, underpinned by the commencement of six water projects worth RM1.8 billion and the start of the Penang Light Rail Transit project, and we maintain a bullish outlook on the construction, property, building material and utilities sectors,” it said in a note.

Meanwhile, ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves said risk-off sentiment emerged after reports suggested that US President-elect Donald Trump might declare a national economic emergency to introduce a new tariff programme.

He said this development is expected to be a key focus in upcoming sessions as the Trump administration may aim to maintain pressure on target countries immediately after the inauguration.

Among the heavyweights, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost six sen to RM21.34, IOI Corporation fell one sen to RM3.85, while QL Resources was flat at RM4.61. However, Maxis added six sen to RM3.62 and Petronas Dagangan improved 30 sen to RM19.94.

Of the active stocks, Velocity slid half-a-sen to 7.5 sen, and MYEG was 1.5 sen weaker at 94.5 sen, while Swift Energy and Sarawak Cable rose two sen to 41.5 sen and 14 sen respectively. Supermax was flat at RM1.17.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index weakened 62.84 points to 12,367.50, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased by 97.41 points to 12,329.62, and the FBMT 100 Index declined by 58.77 points to 12,046.80.

The FBM 70 Index dipped 154.64 points to 18,607.51, while the FBM ACE Index lost 16.78 points, falling to 5,361.391.   

By sector, the Plantation Index lost 21.70 points to 7,534.23, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.65 points to 171.69, and the Energy Index fell 7.06 points to 844.80, while the Financial Services Index strengthened by 18.07 points to 18,916.45.

-- BERNAMA