Bursa Malaysia Lower At Midday On Mild Profit-taking
KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia extended its decline at midday on continuous selling in selected heavyweight stocks due to mild profit-taking.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 4.88 points to 1,715.49 from Tuesday's close of 1,720.37.
The barometer index opened 0.53 of a point lower at 1,719.84, and fluctuated between 1,712.68 and 1,721.31 during the morning trading session.
Market breadth was negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 468 to 346. Some 479 counters were unchanged, 1,454 untraded and 23 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.82 billion units worth RM1.08 billion.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said after surging 80 points from 1,655 to 1,735, the FBM KLCI retraced 15 points from its recent peak to close at 1,720.37 yesterday, as investors engaged in healthy profit-taking.
"While technical strength, resilient domestic fundamentals and renewed foreign inflows should continue supporting the FBM KLCI’s recovery, near-term gains may be capped by external headwinds.
"This includes concentrated market leadership, stretched valuations in the artificial intelligence and technology sectors, heightened tensions in West Asia, and the US Federal Reserve's hawkish stance," it said in a note today.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank fell four sen to RM10.98, Public Bank eased one sen to RM5.19, Tenaga Nasional dropped 20 sen to RM14.36, IHH Healthcare slipped 10 sen to RM8.40, while CIMB Group added two sen to RM7.70.
On the most active list, Aimax rose half a sen to 1.5 sen, V.S Industry rose one sen to 26 sen, Zetrix AI and Tanco edged down one sen each to 72 sen and 30.5 sen, respectively, and GIIB Holdings was flat at 57 sen.
Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which garnered 88 sen to RM47.72, Nestle climbed 30 sen to RM93.42, Kesm Industries jumped 25 sen to RM4.33, and UMS Integration Ltd put on 16 sen to RM8.35.
Leading decliners were Batu Kawan, which dipped 50 sen to RM20.80, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slid 42 sen to RM20.72, Pentamaster Corp and UWC fell 16 sen each to RM5.03 and RM6.11, respectively, and Solarvest Holdings slipped 14 sen to RM3.04.
On the broader market, the FBM Top 100 Index erased 32.14 points to 12,505.99, and the FBM ACE Index lost 4.22 points to 4,962.64, the FBM Emas Index shed 29.29 points to 12,680.47, the FBM Mid 70 Index decreased 31.52 points to 17,977.25, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 35.25 points to 12,509.20.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dropped 33.12 points to 20,267.01 and the Plantation Index tumbled 81.22 points to 9,275.79.
Meanwhile, the Energy Index inched up 0.47 of a point to 770.87 and the Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.01 points to 188.25.
-- BERNAMA