KUALA LUMPUR: The key benchmark index on Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session 3.25 points easier as investors’ sentiment remained sluggish, but it managed to hold above its key psychological level of 1,750 points.
At lunch break, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,752.31 points after moving between 1,746.06 and 1,754.53 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was negative with losers outpacing gainers 390 to 282, while 274 counters were unchanged, 877 untraded and 26 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 989.12 million shares worth RM903.02 million.
Kenanga Research said investors’ sentiment remained sluggish due to an upcoming sovereign rating review and the weakening ringgit.
“We continue to view that the key index is likely to continue its sideways mode at the range of 1,750-1,800 this week.
“However, we do not rule out the possibility of some slight rebound later today, as investors look to nibble on selected cheap quality blue chips,” the research house said in a note here today.
Among key heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM9.11, Tenaga added 4.0 sen to RM13.38, Axiata gained 2.0 sen to RM6.61, while Public Bank lost 18 sen to RM18.78.
Among actives, K-One shed 15 sen to 30 sen, Flonic eased half-a-sen to 5.0 sen and Xinghe was flat at 7.0 sen.
On the scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index depreciated 10.32 points to 12,123.79, the FBM Emas Syariah was 0.17 of-a-point lower at 12,597.4, the FBMT100 Index eased 7.46 points to 11,810.91 while the FBM 70 appreciated 46.49 points to 13,287.91.
Sector-wise, the Finance Index slipped 55.42 points to 15,629.91, the Plantation Index was down 35.96 points at 7,279.3 and the Industrial Index decreased 16.91 points to 3,181.58. – BERNAMA