BURSA MALAYSIA ENDS MORNING SESSION IN POSITIVE TERRITORY

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session in positive territory, buoyed by buying activities in most heavyweights and across all indices, except the Energy Index. 

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) strengthened 9.22 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 1,621.10 from Tuesday’s close of 1,611.88.

The benchmark index had opened 0.74 of-a-point higher at 1,612.62, and fluctuated between 1,612.62 and 1,623.65 throughout the session.

Market breadth was favourable with gainers outpacing decliners 475 to 419, while 453 counters were unchanged, 1,210 untraded, and five suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.30 billion units, valued at RM979.85 million.

However, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd cautioned that the possibility of a United States government shutdown could weigh on the local bourse.

On the technical front, indicators are still showing mixed signals, with the moving average convergence/ divergence (MACD) histogram hovering flat around zero, while the relative strength index (RSI) is trending above 50.

“Resistance is anticipated around the 1,626-1,631 level, while support is located at the 1,591-1,596 level,” it said in a note.

Among heavyweights, Petronas Dagangan strengthened 28 sen to RM23.22, Hong Leong Bank increased 24 sen to RM20.76, QL Resources bagged 5.0 sen to RM4.39, 99 Speed Mart Retail added 3.0 sen to RM2.77 and CIMB gained 8.0 sen to RM7.42.

In active trade, EA Holdings and Borneo Oil were both flat at half-a-sen,  Tanco appreciated half-a-sen to 90.5 sen, while Pharmaniaga and HHRG each lost half-a-sen to 28.5 sen and 10 sen, respectively.

Besides Petronas Dagangan and Hong Leong Bank, top gainers Nestle rose 78 sen to RM97, IHH Healthcare perked 37 sen to RM7.92, and Vitrox grew 23 sen to RM3.98.

Among the top losers, Malayan Cement lost 14 sen to RM6.89, Hong Leong Industries fell 8.0 sen to RM13.92, and Sunway Construction Group shed 7.0 sen to RM5.98, while both KLK and DKSH were down 6.0 sen to RM20.54 and RM4.80, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index strengthened 63.80 points to 12,049.69, the FBMT 100 Index rose 64.08 points to 11,786.70, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index perked 60.54 points to 12,077.09.

The FBM 70 Index surged 78.52 points to 16,825.11, while the FBM ACE Index accumulated 17.52 points to 5,188.83.

By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.78 of-a-point to 172.24, the Plantation Index increased 5.79 points to 7,785.37, and the Financial Services Index leapt 135.74 points to 18,382.47, while the Energy Index fell 3.67 points to 772.95.

-- BERNAMA