KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 ― Bursa Malaysia saw choppy trading at mid-morning as profit takers and bargain hunters were pacing each other.

Nonetheless, the benchmark index edged up 0.03 per cent, supported by renewed buying interest.

At 11.03am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.54 points to 1,598.86 from yesterday’s close of 1,598.32, after opening 0.25 of-a-point easier at 1,598.07.

However, on the broader market, losers surpassed gainers 479 to 278, while 361 counters were unchanged, 1,183 untraded and 25 others suspended.

Total turnover stood at 1.04 billion units worth RM637.16 million.

Heavyweights Maybank added seven sen to RM8.95, Public Bank gained one sen to RM4.68 and IHH Healthcare increased five sen to RM6.59, while Petronas Chemicals lost six sen to RM10.32 and Press Metal slid 13 sen to RM6.46.

Of the actives, Techna-X slipped half-a-sen to 10 sen, both Widad and Ta Win were flat at 36.5 sen and 16 sen, respectively, and Dagang Nexchange fell four sen to RM1.05, while the Malaysia Building Society rose 1.5 sen to 65.5 sen.

On the index board, FBMT 100 Index decreased 14.15 points to 11,109.48, FBM Emas Index was 17.83 points easier at 11,466.47, FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 47.70 points to 12,086.78, FBM 70 shrank 90.42 of-a-point to 13,758.23, and FBM ACE lost 31.43 points to 5,772.06.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index improved 63.66 points to 16,775.53, while the Industrial Products and Services Index weakened 1.62 points to 214.93, and the Plantation Index eased 8.22 points to 8,596.87. ― Bernama