BURSA MALAYSIA HIGHER AT MIDDAY AS BARGAIN HUNTERS STEP IN, CI UP 0.67 PCT

KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia maintained its uptrend momentum at midday, boosted by bargain hunting in the domestic market, with continued buying activities in selected heavyweights, led by the financial services, utilities and industrial and product services sectors.   

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 10.45 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 1,566.11, from yesterday’s close of 1,555.66. 

Three counters pushed up the composite index by a combined 8.91 points, namely Public Bank which gained 15 sen to RM4.68, Tenaga Nasional which added 22 sen to RM13.82 and Press Metal Aluminium which rose 13 sen to RM4.98.

The benchmark index opened 4.90 points higher at 1,560.56, and moved between 1,560.56 and 1,569.61 throughout the morning trading session.

The broader market was also positive with advancers surpassing decliners 542 to 359, with 387 counters unchanged, 1,043 untraded and six suspended. 

Turnover stood at 1.83 billion shares worth RM1.24 billion.

In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said that following the United States’ (US) move to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China starting yesterday, the countries have announced retaliatory measures, escalating concerns about a global trade war.

Back home, the brokerage firm said that given the continuous strong selloffs in the market, the sentiment is expected to shift towards a risk-off mode, with investors likely seeking refuge in defensive sectors and safe-haven assets.

“Hence, we reiterate our stance on defensive sectors, including banking, utilities, and REITs, as they have recently reported stable earnings and offer consistent dividends.

“Meanwhile, we also favour KPJ Healthcare, ITMAX System, and TIME dotCom for their resilient business models and healthy chart setups, bucking the trend of the sluggish broader market performance,” it added.

As for other heavyweights, YTL Corporation went up 7.0 sen to RM1.83, YTL Power International perked up by 9.0 sen to RM3.04 and Gamuda edged up 12.0 sen to RM4.22, while CIMB lost 18.0 sen to RM7.82 and Nestle decreased RM2.62 to RM76.50. 

As for the actives, NexG recovered 1.5 sen to 27 sen and Ingenieur Gudang inched up half-a-sen to 3.5 sen, while NationGate eased 2.0 sen to RM1.43 and both Compugates Holdings and Silver Ridge were flat at 1.5 sen and 55.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index expanded 70.43 points to 11,615.30, the FBMT 100 Index increased 71.44 points to 11,401.59, the FBM 70 Index ticked up 84.18 points to 16,370.22, the FBM Emas Shariah Index put on 69.29 points to 11,232.63, and the FBM ACE Index appreciated 17.02 points to 4,568.39.

By sector, the Financial Services Index climbed 83.25 points to 19,341.60, the Plantation Index improved 19.60 points to 7,502.61, and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.36 points firmer at 154.45, while the Energy Index trimmed 7.76 points to 727.24.

-- BERNAMA