BURSA MALAYSIA STAYS IN THE RED AT MIDDAY ON CONTINUOUS PROFIT-TAKING

By Zufazlin Baharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained in the red at midday on continuous profit-taking after the recent rally, said an analyst.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 7.90 points to 1,579.90 from yesterday’s close of 1,587.80.

The benchmark index opened 1.28 points lower at 1,586.52, and fluctuated between 1,576.92 and 1,586.52 throughout the morning trading session.

Market breadth was negative with losers outpacing gainers 648 to 213. Meanwhile, 398 counters were unchanged, 1,138 untraded and 83 suspended.

Turnover reached 1.99 billion shares valued at RM1.32 billion.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research, Mohd Sedek Jantan said market players are reacting to United States President Donald Trump's announcement of private sector investment of up to US$500 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and the Stargate project.

“After Trump announced the Stargate project, investors are hyped on the AI stock market, triggering profit-taking here after the recent rally,” he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare decreased two sen each to RM4.38 and RM7.16, respectively, Tenaga Nasional was weaker by six sen to RM13.82, Maybank slid six sen to RM10.30, and CIMB tumbled five sen to RM8.01.

As for the active stocks, Oriental Kopi Holdings gained 45 sen to 89 sen, Harvest Miracle Capital added half-a-sen to 18 sen, EA Holdings and Gamuda were both flat at half-a-sen and RM4.35, respectively, while Pertama Digital lost half-a-sen to 18.5 sen.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index dwindled 61.64 points to 12,097.93, the FBMT 100 Index trimmed 56.68 points to 11,785.14, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 68.66 points to 11,966.64, the FBM ACE Index fell 28.24 points to 5,210.35, and the FBM 70 Index shed 78.21 points to 18,048.59.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index depreciated 8.20 points to 846.82, the Financial Services Index decreased 56.38 points to 18,889.04, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.07 points to 169.14, and the Plantation Index reduced 25.68 points to 7,396.02.

-- BERNAMA