KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — Gains in heavyweights Tenaga Nasional (TNB) and Public Bank helped mitigate losses in Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index by midday.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.61 points to 1,676.58, down from Monday’s close of 1,678.19.
The key index opened 0.37 of-a-point lower at 1,677.82 and traded between 1,684.06 and 1,673.86 throughout the morning session.
On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 479 to 429, with 494 counters unchanged, 1,025 untraded and 15 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.78 billion units valued at RM1.40 billion.
Overall, interest was subdued amid a lack of market-moving news, compounded by a US holiday and weak regional leads ahead of key economic data releases both domestically and internationally.
A trader said the market was awaiting the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, with expectations for Bank Negara Malaysia to keep the overnight policy rate unchanged.
China and the US are set to release August export and import figures this week.
Among heavyweights, TNB gained 20 sen to RM14.76, Public Bank added five sen to RM4.80, and YTL rose four sen to RM3.06. CIMB fell nine sen to RM8.21, while Petronas Chemicals slipped 10 sen to RM5.63.
In active counters, Talam Transform was unchanged at 3.0 sen, MYEG dipped half-a-sen to 89 sen, Notion Vtec eased one sen to RM1.12, and MRCB improved by two sen to 61.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 11.62 points to 12,497.98, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 12.89 points to 12,306.74, and the FBMT 100 Index shed 13.38 points to 12,190.88.
The FBM 70 Index dropped 25.43 points to 17,521.52, while the FBM ACE Index edged up 2.55 points to 5,189.15.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 27.67 points to 19,683.01, the Plantation Index weakened by 32.33 points to 7,273.43, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.03 points to 179.88, and the Energy Index recovered 0.78 of-a-point to 920.06. — Bernama
