Bursa Malaysia Ends Morning Session Higher
KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session on a firmer note, supported by selective buying interest in heavyweight counters, particularly within the utilities sector, amid range-bound trading.
At 12.30 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 1.47 points to 1,665.53, compared with Tuesday’s closing level of 1,664.06.
The index opened 1.29 points higher at 1,665.35 and traded between an intraday low of 1,663.76 and a high of 1,670.99 during the session.
Market breadth remained positive, with gainers outnumbering decliners 468 to 410. A total of 459 counters were unchanged, while 1,284 counters recorded no trades and 14 were suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.42 billion shares valued at RM1.01 billion.
Apex Securities Bhd, in a note today, said technology remains the sector to watch, with Bursa-listed chip and electronics manufacturing services tracking the global semiconductor trade, and their direction being tied to this week’s US jobs data.
It said construction could remain in favour as high-tech facility and infrastructure contracts continue to flow, while real estate investment trusts should retain a defensive bid if softer data revives rate-cut expectations.
Meanwhile, banks will need to remain steady for the index to close its gap with the broader market, it added.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd in a separate note said that the FBM KLCI is expected to remain volatile and headline-driven in the near term.
It said sentiment hinges on developments surrounding US-Iran diplomacy, although no high-level talks are currently scheduled.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank fell four sen to RM10.74, Public Bank lost three sen to RM4.77, Tenaga Nasional erased two sen to RM14.26, and IHH reduced five sen to RM8.35, while CIMB rose five sen to RM7.46.
Of the active counters, Tanco inched up half a sen to 18 sen, Dagang Nexchange increased four sen to 45.5 sen, Silver Ridge bagged three sen to 16 sen, Zetrix AI went up one sen to 77 sen, and YTL Power jumped 32 sen to RM4.49.
On the gainers’ list, Critical Holdings soared 32 sen to RM1.41, Pentamaster rose 19 sen to RM4.97, F&N and Ayer Holdings widened 20 sen each to RM7.20 and RM7.20, respectively, and Petronas Chemicals jumped 17 sen to RM4.22.
Among the top losers, Nestle slipped RM1.32 to RM92.14, Malaysian Pacific Industries sank 38 sen to RM49.28, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell by 16 sen to RM21, Gas Malaysia reduced 15 sen to RM5.15, and PPB eased nine sen to RM9.20.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index was 17.33 points higher at 12,402.44, the FBM Top 100 Index added 16.46 points to 12,231.50, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 9.47 points to 12,293.32.
The FBM Mid 70 Index went up 47.98 points to 17,965.45, and the FBM ACE Index expanded 33.28 points to 4,856.71.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index decreased 31.15 points to 19,579.51, the Energy Index ticked up 1.21 points to 752.85, the Plantation Index shed 11.84 points to 8,842.93, and the Industrial Products and Services Index perked up 1.22 points to 181.85.
-- BERNAMA