Kuala Lumpur: Bursa Malaysia continued its downward trajectory, closing the morning session lower at midday as profit-taking persisted amidst a lack of positive market sentiment, analysts reported. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) recorded a decline of 0.58 percent, or 8.77 points, settling at 1,503.18 compared to Wednesday’s close of 1,511.95.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the benchmark index opened slightly higher by 0.99 of-a-point at 1,512.94 and fluctuated between 1,501.68 and 1,512.94 throughout the morning session. The broader market witnessed a negative performance, with 609 decliners surpassing 218 gainers. Another 392 counters remained unchanged, while 1,204 were untraded and 11 suspended. Turnover reached 1.80 billion shares valued at RM765.04 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd maintained a positive outlook on the utility, construction, and solar sectors following Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) RM43 billion commitment to upgrade the national grid. It noted that TNB’s stance was influenced by the increasing demand for data centers and the country’s shift towards renewable energy.
Malacca Securities highlighted that the FBM KLCI continued to hover below the moving average (MA) lines, with technical indicators showing signs of deceleration. “The moving average convergence/divergence (MACD) histogram turned negative, while the relative strength index (RSI) is pointing downward. Resistance levels for the FBM KLCI are anticipated around 1,526 to 1,531 points, while support is located at 1,491 to 1,496 points,” stated the stockbroking company in a note today.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank decreased by 4.0 sen to RM9.58, while Tenaga and IHH Healthcare remained unchanged at RM14.22 and RM6.85, respectively. Public Bank fell by 3.0 sen to RM4.21, and CIMB dropped by 5.0 sen to RM6.85.
On the most active stocks, PUC fell by half-a-sen to 2.5 sen, SNS Network Technology gained 1.5 sen to 55 sen, while Tanco and MYEG each decreased by 1.5 sen to 96.5 sen and 91.5 sen, respectively. Borneo Oil fell by half-a-sen to half-a-sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased by 64.15 points to 11,237.65, the FBMT 100 Index reduced by 61.38 points to 11,018, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined by 64.07 points to 11,246.27. The FBM 70 Index lost 78.11 points to 16,122.68, and the FBM ACE Index was down by 44.98 points at 4,396.36.
By sectors, the Plantation Index decreased by 28.41 points to 7,209.63, and the Energy Index fell by 6.82 points to 733.79. The Financial Services Index decreased by 84.56 points to 17,336.87, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down by 1.80 points to 148.26.