KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — Bursa Malaysia saw choppy trading at mid-morning as profit takers and bargain hunters slugged it out, but the benchmark index ended up 0.13 per cent easier as sentiments were affected by growth prospects.
At 11am, the FTSE Bursa Mala ysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.03 points to 1,537.13 from yesterday’s close of 1,539.16, after opening 0.44 point weaker at 1,538.72 this morning.
On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 304 to 291, with 349 counters unchanged, 1,034 untraded and 33 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 987.61 million shares worth RM595.02 million.
A dealer said market sentiment weakened after Bank Negara Malaysia hinted at another Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) cut soon, coupled with the spike in the number of Covid-19 casualties.
Among heavyweights, Maybank was one sen higher at RM8.47, Tenaga was flat at RM12.58, Public Bank was16 sen lower at RM17.64 and Petronas Chemicals declined four sen to RM6.46.
Of the actives, Ekovest eased one sen to 73.5 sen, DGB Asia fell half-a-sen to nine sen and MYEG added three sen to RM1.38.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 2.27 points to 11,021.62, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 7.54 points to 11,834.82 and the FBMT 100 Index erased 3.21 points to 10,809.74.
The FBM 70 was 41.08 points better at 14,048.57 and the FBM Ace gave up 15.41 points to 5,598.75.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.31 point to 146.00, the Financial Services Index was 27.40 points lower at 14,549.06 and the Plantation Index accumulated 16.32 points to 7,307.47. — Bernama
