.JPG "An investor monitors the stock prices in the gallery of the RHB Investment Bank Bhd headquarters in Kuala Lumpur March 17, 2020. u00e2u20acu2022 Picture by Hari Anggara")
KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 5 — Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session mixed, with the key index rising 0.24 per cent, lifted by buying in selected heavyweights including banking stocks after Bank Negara Malaysia maintained the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 1.75 per cent yesterday.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 3.81 points to 1,585.07, from yesterday’s close of 1,581,26.
The index moved between 1,579.74 and 1,587.97 throughout the morning trading session.
Market breadth was negative with losers outpacing gainers 642 to 393, while 416 counters were unchanged, 704 untraded and nine others suspended.
Total volume stood at 4.60 billion units worth RM2.61 billion.
In a note earlier today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it expected the local bourse to continue to consolidate further as market players are likely to adopt a more cautious tone in the broader market.
“Nevertheless, we expect traders to position themselves for the recovery theme as Covid-19 vaccination is taking place.
“Meanwhile, the Brent oil price has surged firmly above the US$65 a barrel level, which is expected to boost market sentiment,” it added.
As for heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals advanced nine sen to RM7.84, CIMB and Top Glove expanded by seven sen each to RM4.44 and RM5.03, respectively, Public Bank gained three sen to RM4.26, Hong Leong Bank strengthened 24 sen to RM18.66, Maybank was four sen higher at RM8.24 and RHB Bank put on 10 sen to RM5.42.
TNB fell six sen to RM10.34, IHH Healthcare and Press Metal declined 15 sen each to RM5.32 and RM9.57, respectively, while Sime Darby Plantation eased five sen to RM4.90.
Of the actives, TH Heavy Engineering was 1.5 sen higher at 13.5 sen, Techna-X added one sen to 15 sen, SYF Resources bagged 10 sen to 47 sen, Velesto and Sapura Energy both inched up half-a-sen to 17 sen and 15 sen, respectively, while Bumi Armada went up two sen to 44.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 7.91 points to 11,612.76, the FBMT 100 Index eased 2.72 points to 11,313.54, the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 40.84 points to 12,876.22, the FBM ACE dipped 46.45 points to 10,347.81, and the FBM 70 declined 119.05 points to 15,319.94.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 84.49 points to 15,272.14, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.67 of-a-point to 184.51, and the Plantation Index slid 26.12 points to 7,123.34. — Bernama
