KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index ended the morning session higher amid cautious sentiment and selective accumulation in heavyweight stocks.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 0.25 per cent, or 4.12 points, to 1,629.79 from Friday’s close of 1,625.67.
The benchmark opened 1.80 points higher at 1,627.47, and fluctuated between 1,626.98 and 1,633.84 during the session.
On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 540 to 362, while 517 counters were unchanged, 1,319 untraded and 11 suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.17 billion units valued at RM1.08 billion.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said the FBM KLCI may see choppy trading today, in line with sluggish United States and regional markets, with stiff resistance near the 1,645 level.
“Sentiment remains fragile amid lingering US-China trade tensions, fading expectations of a Fed (US Federal Reserve) rate cut on Dec 13, the upcoming Sabah polls on Nov 29, and earnings season climax in the next two weeks,” the investment bank said in a note today.
Among heavyweights, Maybank and Press Metal gained 3.0 sen to RM9.96 and RM6.46, respectively, CIMB rose 6.0 sen to RM7.59, Hong Leong Bank bagged 8.0 sen to RM21.04, CelcomDigi went up 2.0 sen to RM3.64, Public Bank was flat at RM4.29, TNB slipped 6.0 sen to RM13.36, and IHH Healthcare declined 2.0 sen to RM8.25.
On the most active list, Tanco increased 1.0 sen to 96.5 sen, Perak Transit inched up half-a-sen to 27 sen, VS Industry and Genting Malaysia were flat at 50.5 sen and RM2.37, respectively, while Pharmaniaga fell 2.0 sen to 24 sen, and Zetrix AI edged down half-a-sen to 84 sen.
Top gainers included Fraser & Neave, which expanded by 70 sen to RM33.18, Nestle bounced 40 sen to RM113.90, Hong Leong Industries and Allianz widened by 30 sen each to RM15.10 and RM18.50, respectively, while Malaysian Pacific Industries put on 24 sen to RM30.94.
Among the top losers, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gave up 18 sen to RM21.08, SAM Engineering & Equipment shed 16 sen to RM4.30, UWC shaved 14 sen to RM3.70, and Vitrox went down 10 sen to RM4.21.
On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index jumped 24.66 points to 11,847.72, the FBM Emas Index was 23.80 points to 12,078.65, the FBM Emas Shariah Index appreciated by 24.57 points to 12,083.74, the FBM Mid 70 Index strengthened 11.90 points to 16,902.77, and the FBM ACE Index eased 1.13 points to 4,982.63
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index grew 1.48 points to 8,141.56, the Financial Services Index climbed 68.05 points to 18,499.39, the Industrial Products and Services Index garnered 0.04 of-a-point to 167.03, while the Energy Index firmed 3.92 points to 759.53.
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