KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s key index saw interspersed buying and selling before ending the morning session in the red, as sentiment was cautious due to the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance, elevated United States Treasury yields and persistent foreign selling.
At 12.30 pm, the FBM KLCI eased 1.53 points to 1,673.21 from Thursday’s close of 1,674.74.
The benchmark index, which opened 1.98 points higher at 1,676.72, moved between 1,671.95 and 1,677.83 during the session.
Market breadth, however, was positive, with gainers leading losers 510 to 460. A total of 496 counters were unchanged, 1,400 untraded and 22 suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.01 billion shares worth RM1.28 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said he expects the benchmark index to remain in consolidation, although lower yields and oil prices may encourage selective bargain hunting.
“The FBM KLCI is expected to trade between 1,670 and 1,685 today,” he told Bernama.
Technically, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said in a note that the barometer index would continue to trade below its 10-day simple moving average, as momentum indicators showed mixed signals.
“The moving average convergence divergence formed a rounding bottom formation, while the relative strength index slid towards 30. Key resistance is pegged at 1,727-1,742, with support expected around 1,682-1,697,” it said.
Among heavyweights, Maybank, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare were all flat at RM10.36, RM4.80 and RM7.69 respectively, CIMB eased two sen to RM7.67 and Tenaga Nasional fell 10 sen to RM13.22.
As for the top actives, Zetrix AI lost one sen to 23.5 sen, FBSM shed three sen to 7.5 sen, AirAsia inched down two sen to 48.5 sen, Capital A weakened half a sen to 22.5 sen, while Jaks Resources added 1.5 sen to 15.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries was RM2.46 higher at RM42.56, Unisem expanded 30 sen to RM4.45, UMS Integration advanced 26 sen to RM8.39, Pentamaster increased 23 sen to RM5.45 and Sunway Construction gained 20 sen to RM7.32.
Of the top losers, Petronas Dagangan shed 76 sen to RM20.32, Nestle was 48 sen lower at RM90.04, Hong Leong Bank shed 32 sen to RM22.78, United Plantations slipped 22 sen to RM33.36 and PPB eased 21 sen to RM9.50.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 6.72 points to 12,421.55, the FBM Top 100 Index firmed 1.92 points to 12,220.86, the FBM ACE Index advanced 35.96 points to 5,232.41, the FBM Mid 70 Index inched up 58.50 points to 17,665.73, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index ticked up 23.72 points to 12,297.60.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.83 of a point to 185.69, while the Energy Index trimmed 0.31 of a point to 814.83.
The Financial Services Index declined 51.30 points to 19,484.62, and the Plantation Index lost 34.24 points to 9,473.04.
--BERNAMA