BANKING, CONSUMER PRODUCT STOCKS LIFT FBM KLCI AT MIDDAY

KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session higher, lifted by renewed buying interest in selected heavyweight banking and consumer product counters.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) strengthened by 2.94 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 1,508.39 from Friday’s close of 1,505.45. The benchmark index opened 1.05 points higher at 1,506.50. 

On the broader market, decliners led gainers 522 to 234, while 410 counters were unchanged, 1,260 untraded, and 19 suspended.   

Turnover stood at 1.85 billion shares worth RM914.83 million.  

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it sees trading opportunities within the transportation and logistics sector, particularly those linked to container and conventional cargo handling after Westports Holdings Bhd’s strong breakout last Friday. “Despite the proposed delay in the port tariff revision, we expect its capital expenditure to provide further growth on a longer-term basis,” it said in a note today.

The brokerage reckons that the recent announcement from the United States to impose "maximum pressure" to remove Iran's oil supply from the global market would tighten global oil supply further. “This, combined with OPEC+'s new plan for oil cuts by 189,000 to 435,000 barrels per day, is likely to provide additional support for crude oil prices and translate into potential trading interest within the oil and gas sector,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 8.0 sen to RM10.26 while CIMB Group and IHH Healthcare climbed 6.0 sen each to RM6.91 and RM6.96, respectively. Public Bank was flat at RM4.49 and Tenaga Nasional was unchanged at RM13.56.

Among the actives, Pertama Digital and Bina Puri inched up half-a-sen each to 16.5 sen and 33 sen. Saliran Group fell 1.5 sen to 24 sen, Malayan United Industries eased half-a-sen sen to 5.5 sen while Kinergy Advancement was flat at 32.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slipped 14.60 points to 11,291.19, the FBMT 100 Index fell 7.88 points to 11,053.50 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 27.30 points to 10,999.81.

The FBM 70 Index dropped 128.30 points to 16,159.71, and the FBM ACE Index decreased 20.80 points to 4,803.84.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slipped 4.66 points to 18,435.17, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.37 points to 152.06 and the Energy Index declined 1.47 points to 750.33.

The Plantation Index added 14.08 points to 7,464.01.

-- BERNAMA