Bursa Malaysia ends morning session flat amid cautious sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended today’s morning trading flat amid cautious sentiment in the market.

At 12.30 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was almost unchanged with the index edging higher by 0.06 of a point to 1,413.10 from Monday’s close of 1,413.04.

The benchmark index, which opened 0.18 of a point easier at 1,412.86, moved between 1,411.56 and 1,420.27 throughout the morning session.

On the broader market, decliners edged gainers 363 to 308, while 358 counters were unchanged, 1,368 untraded, and 20 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.28 billion units worth RM850.25 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said although the local bourse was in oversold territory, sentiment has turned cautious.

The brokerage expects limited upside for local equities and sees the index hovering within the 1,405- 1,420 range today.

“We expect commodities-related stocks to encounter some headwinds today with heightened volatility in global currencies. Meanwhile, the Brent crude price has slipped to US$84 per barrel on recessionary fears,” it said in a research note today.

Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals rose three sen to RM8.35, TNB added one sen to RM8.71, and Press Metal was flat at RM3.99.

Maybank fell five sen to RM8.54, Public Bank shed three sen to RM4.25, CIMB slipped one sen to RM5.29 and IHH Healthcare declined four sen to RM5.91.

Of the actives, Ace Market debutant PT Resources advanced 1.5 sen to 37.5 sen, CSH Alliance edged up half-a-sen to 3.5 sen, Velesto was flat at 12 sen, and Top Glove dipped one sen to 62.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 2.49 points to 10,091.21, the FBM 70 declined 14.77 points to 12,255.5, and the FBMT 100 Index eased 2.55 points to 9,836.91.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index improved by 22.81 points to 10,174.77, and the FBM ACE expanded by 28.90 points to 4,690.02.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index was 1.84 points higher at 684.19, the Plantation Index climbed 18.09 points to 6,620.26, the Financial Services Index slid 87.58 points to 16,001.61, and the Industrial Products and Services Index gained 0.91 of-a-point to 170.81.

nst