BURSA REMAINS EASIER AT MIDDAY AMID LACK OF CATALYSTS

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session on a slightly lower note, amid a healthy profit-taking pullback in the absence of fresh domestic catalysts.

 At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged down 0.08 of-a-point to 1,672.27, down from Tuesday’s close of 1,672.35. The benchmark had started the day 0.88 of-a-point lower at 1,671.47. 

On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 524 to 355. Some 508 counters were unchanged, 1,262 remained untraded, and 10 were suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.57 billion shares worth RM1.18 billion.

In a note, Apex Research said investors have continued to focus on the United States’ (US) monetary policy expectations and the upcoming US nonfarm payrolls report on Friday, which could influence global risk sentiment. 

“Buying interest in the local market is likely to be guided by supportive global cues, recent geopolitical developments in Venezuela, and continued optimism in selected sectors, particularly technology,” it said.

Heavyweights Petronas Dagangan rose six sen to RM19.90, TNB advanced eight sen to RM13.66 and both Public Bank and Maybank were flat at RM4.52 and RM10.70, respectively, while Hong Leong Bank shed four sen to RM22.70. 

Meanwhile, on the most active list, Tanco increased two sen to RM1.21, IJM Corp surged 17 sen to RM2.71, THMY bagged three sen to RM1.05, OCR and Bina Puri were flat at 4.5 sen and 29.5 sen, while Capital A slipped 3.5 sen to 41 sen. 

Among the top gainers, BLD Plantation advanced RM1.18 to RM15.80, United Plantations expanded by 72 sen to RM31.20, Hong Leong Industries went up 36 sen to RM16.64 and IGB improved by 20 sen to RM3.25.

As for the top decliners, Alliance slipped 20 sen to RM20.20, Kelington depreciated 17 sen to RM4.80, Hong Leong Financial Group decreased 12 sen to RM19.16 and QL Resources declined 11 sen to RM3.80.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index inched up 0.26 points to 12,328.08, the FBM Top 100 Index increased 1.83 points to 12,121.46, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 3.24 points to 12,132.83.  

The FBM Mid 70 Index appreciated 13.40 points to 17,141.58, and the FBM ACE Index discounted 23.58 points to 4,927.32. 

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index narrowed 15.11 points to 19,755.51, the Energy Index shed 4.94 points to 762.34, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.20 of-a-point to 172.35, and the Plantation Index went up 59.33 points to 8,350.44. 

-- BERNAMA