BURSA MALAYSIA TURNS MIXED AT MIDDAY

KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia turned mixed at midday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street’s performance last Friday as investors brushed off concerns over rising tensions between Ukraine and the United States (US).  

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched up 0.89 of-a-point, or 0.06 per cent, to 1,575.59 from Friday's close of 1,574.70. 

The benchmark index opened 2.43 points lower at 1,572.27.

However, the broader market was negative with losers trumping advancers 576 to 316, with 424 counters unchanged, 1,001 untraded and six suspended. 

Turnover stood at 1.94 billion shares worth RM1.16 billion.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd noted that the US inflation held steady while consumer spending had unexpectedly declined in January, making it more challenging for the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to decide on interest rate directions.

“Traders will be watching Fed chair Jerome Powell’s speech, while also focusing on cryptocurrency after US President Donald Trump announced the inclusion of five digital assets in a new US strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies,” it said in a note today.

The brokerage firm believes that FBM KLCI will turn positive today, supported by the Employees Provident Fund’s recent declaration of a 6.3 per cent dividend rate.

“The banking sector remains our top pick due to the recent reports of stable earnings and attractive dividends,” it added. 

Meanwhile, Malacca Securities opined that renewable energy (RE) will be a sustainable theme moving forward, as the government targets 31 per cent RE capacity this year.

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank added 2.0 sen to RM4.55, CIMB put on 27 sen to RM8.08 and Tenaga Nasional improved 10 sen to RM13.70, while Maybank lost 2.0 sen to RM10.70 and IHH Healthcare was 5.0 sen easier at RM7.40. 

As for the actives, Genting Malaysia and MY E.G. picked up 3.0 sen each to RM1.93 and 90.5 sen respectively, while Pantech Global fell 9.0 sen to 59 sen, Cape EMS erased 2.5 sen to 24.5 sen, and Ingenieur Gudang edged down half-a-sen to 3.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 10.89 points to 11,747.21, the FBMT 100 Index improved 17.07 points to 11,513.64 and the FBM 70 Index rose 66.82 points to 16,703.45, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 28.12 points to 11,383.67, and the FBM ACE Index shaved 57.31 points to 4,699.68.

By sector, the Financial Services Index climbed 87.21 points to 19,414.16, the Plantation Index was 76.15 points firmer at 7,533.55 and the Energy Index strengthened 1.26 points to 755.40, while the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.63 of-a-point to 157.72.

-- BERNAMA