BURSA MALAYSIA TURNS MIXED AT MIDDAY

By Zufazlin Baharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia turned mixed at midday today, backed by continuous buying in selected heavyweights amidst the weaker performance by regional peers.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 2.02 points to 1,610.45 from yesterday’s close of 1,608.43.

The benchmark index started the day 0.18 of-a-point higher at 1,608.61, and moved between 1,602.71 and 1,610.61 throughout the morning trading session. 

However, the market breadth was negative as decliners outpaced gainers 552 to 328, while 444 counters were unchanged, 1,130 untraded and 13 suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.79 billion shares valued at RM1.09 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the market is still in consolidation mode, with some bargain-hunting activities after recent losses.

“For today, we anticipate the index to hover within the 1,610-1,620 range,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said selected construction, property, and building materials counters are expected to gain momentum ahead of their earnings releases.

Moving forward, the stockbroking firm believes the market participants will closely monitor key economic indicators in the United States, including the consumer price index, the producer price index, retail sales, and Malaysia’s third quarter 2024 gross domestic product data.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd lost six sen to RM10.42, CIMB Group added four sen to RM8.24, Tenaga Nasional gained 28 sen to RM14.38, and IHH Healthcare rose three sen to RM7.22, while Public Bank remained unchanged at RM4.44.

Among the active stocks, newly listed Life Water gained 26.5 sen to 91.5 sen and 3REN was flat at 41 sen, while Mpire Global slid half-a-sen to 21 sen, Johor Plantations Group shed 15 sen to RM1.30 and Mega Fortis dropped four sen to 59 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index bagged 16.39 points to 12,164.01, the FBM Emas Index rose 15.35 points to 12,195.40, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 15.13 points to 11,901.03 and the FBM 70 Index increased 23.43 points to 17,819.96, while the FBM ACE Index gave up 13.70 points to 5,121.05.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.16 of-a-point to 168.74, the Energy Index dropped 4.7 points to 820.26, and the Plantation Index declined 118.32 points to 7,761.64, while the Financial Services Index added 19.99 points to 19,164.31.

-- BERNAMA