KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia pared gains but stayed up at midday on persistent buying activities in selected heavyweight counters, especially in financial services, telecommunications and media.
Maybank added 16 sen to RM11.96, Public Bank gained four sen to RM4.91, and Axiata Group jumped 14 sen to RM2.44. These counters lifted the composite index by a combined 6.96 points.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.32 per cent, or 5.61 points, to 1,746.49 compared with last Friday’s close of 1,740.88.
The barometer index opened 15.21 points higher at 1,756.09, and moved between 1,742.68 and 1,757.51 throughout the morning trading session.
On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 635 to 373, with 502 counters unchanged, 1,118 untraded and 62 suspended.
The market turnover stood at 1.88 billion shares, valued at RM1.54 billion.
“Telekom Malaysia’s securing of power supply for data centres in Johor, along with several downstream data centre project announcements, strengthens the case for ‘pick-and-shovel’ plays within the data centre value chain. We favour Powerwell Holdings Bhd, particularly following the recent development of its acquisition in East Malaysia and its recent major project wins,” Malacca Securities said in a research note today.
Meanwhile, it said UUE Holdings Bhd’s employee share option scheme (ESOS) losses could be viewed as non-recurring expenses, which should support a 'buy-on-weakness' opportunity, especially given the company’s robust order book.
The brokerage sees resistance at around 1,755-1,760 points, with support at 1,720-1,725.
Among other heavyweights, Telekom Malaysia gained 19 sen to RM8.09, while Tenaga Nasional increased 12 sen to RM14.06, and Maxis expanded 8.0 sen to RM3.90. Hong Leong Bank lost 80 sen to RM25, and Gamuda slid 27 sen to RM4.15.
On the most active list, Pharmaniaga was two sen higher at 30.5 sen, Capital A slid 2.0 sen to 59.5 sen, Zetrix AI edged up one sen to 81.5 sen, Tanco shed three sen to RM1.33, and ISF fell 4.5 sen to 50 sen.
Top gainers included Nestle, which advanced 40 sen to RM112.40, while Malaysian Pacific Industries was RM1.30 firmer at RM33.30, and UWC rose 30 sen to RM4.39. Hong Leong Financial Group widened 26 sen to RM22.60, and Dutch Lady Milk Industries gained 26 sen to RM33.26.
Fraser & Neave led the decliners, falling RM1.44 to RM34.32, while PPB Group slipped 26 sen to RM11.04, and Tradeplus Shariah Gold Tracker shrank 29 sen to RM5.91. United Plantations was 70 sen lower at RM29.54, and Petronas Dagangan slid 64 sen to RM20.56.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 26.12 points to 12,588.14, while the FBM Emas Index gained 18.84 points to 12,764.83, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 11.48 points to 12,286.80.
The FBM ACE Index slipped 31.52 points to 4,691.48, and the FBM Mid 70 Index trimmed 28.49 points to 17,481.09.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 1.80 points to 21,511.98, the Plantation Index climbed 16.45 points to 8,381.01, the Energy Index rose 9.13 points to 749.80, and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.11 of-a-point to 175.67.
-- BERNAMA
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