Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia continued its downward trend at midday due to ongoing selling activities affecting selected heavyweight counters. This decline was primarily influenced by financial services, industrial products and services, as well as utilities counters.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Public Bank saw a reduction of 5.0 sen to RM4.90, Petronas Chemicals decreased by 9.0 sen to RM3.19, and YTL Power International fell by 6.0 sen to RM3.22. These declines collectively dragged the composite index down by 3.85 points.
At 12:30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) decreased by 0.11 per cent, or 1.83 points, to 1,746.43 compared to the previous day's close of 1,748.26. The barometer index opened 1.84 points lower at 1,746.42, fluctuating between 1,741.32 and 1,751.22 throughout the morning trading session.
The broader market saw decliners outnumbering gainers, with 568 counters falling, 360 gaining, 510 remaining unchanged, 1,197 untraded, and six suspended. The market turnover was recorded at 1.35 billion shares, valued at RM1.25 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd noted that despite the FBM KLCI ending higher on the previous day due to healthy blue-chip accumulation and steady buying interest, any near-term consolidation is likely to be temporary. The sentiment is expected to remain positive, with the FBM KLCI anticipated to trend within the range of 1,740-1,760 for the day.
Among other heavyweights, Axiata Group decreased by 4.0 sen to RM2.43, YTL Corporation edged down by 3.0 sen to RM2.05, and Telekom Malaysia fell by 9.0 sen to RM7.95. Conversely, Maybank increased by 10 sen to RM12.04, and IHH Healthcare rose by 12 sen to RM9.00.
On the most active list, Pharmaniaga and Capital A increased by half-a-sen to 33 sen and 60 sen, respectively, while Tanco edged up one sen to RM1.34. Bina Puri Holdings and Dagang NeXchange experienced declines, shedding half-a-sen to 29.5 sen and 1.0 sen to 29 sen, respectively.
Top gainers included United Plantations, advancing 60 sen to 29.78, Dutch Lady Milk Industries gaining 20 sen to RM33.48, Allianz Malaysia increasing by 14 sen to RM22.42, Guocoland (Malaysia) jumping 11.5 sen to RM1.05, and Westports Holdings rising by 10 sen to RM5.98.
Malaysian Pacific Industries led the decliners, falling by 46 sen to RM32.60, followed by Fraser and Neave, which slipped 40 sen to RM34.40. Petronas Dagangan decreased by 20 sen to RM20.12, Nestle fell by 20 sen to RM112, and Pentamaster Corporation slid 13 sen to RM3.19.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index decreased by 9.65 points to 12,587.67, the FBM Emas Index reduced by 11.50 points to 12,764.91, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined by 16.65 points to 12,280.92, and the FBM ACE Index slipped by 23.73 points to 4,683.32. Meanwhile, the FBM Mid 70 Index added 2.46 points to 17,480.20.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 13.76 points to 21,538.21, the Plantation Index improved by 14.39 points to 8,387.44, the Energy Index rose by 1.35 points to 751.43, and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down by 0.92 of-a-point to 176.52.