FBM KLCI marginally lower at lunch break

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia fell marginally at lunch break on increasing selling pressure in selected heavyweights led by Petronas Chemicals and Public Bank.

Early gains spurred by a rally on Wall Street overnight on hopes the US Federal Reserve would soon slow rate hikes faded as worries over weakness in China stocks set in.

Hong Kong stocks plunged to a 13-year low while the onshore yuan depreciated to a 15-year low after China president Xi Jinping’s new leadership team sparked worries over the economy’s direction.

At 12.30 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.02 of-a-point to 1,446.40 compared to Friday’s close of 1,446.42.

The market bellwether opened 2.72 points higher to 1,449.14.

The broader market was mixed, with losers outpacing gainers 383 to 369, while 356 counters were unchanged, 1,244 untraded, and 12 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.42 billion units worth RM834.95 million.

At the time of writing, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index recovered 0.01 per cent to 15,182.48, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.14 per cent to 2,981.68, while the Shenzhen Index dipped 0.25 per cent to 10,667.88.

Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.84 per cent to 27,201.37 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.49 per cent to 2,984.47.

At home, Petronas Chemicals dipped 13 sen to RM8.87, while Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional declined four sen each to RM4.46 and RM8.29 respectively.

Hong Leong Bank slid 12 sen to RM21.18 and IOI gave up six sen to RM3.88.

Axiata and Maybank remained higher, gaining 14 sen and eight sen to RM2.74 and RM8.74 respectively.

Of the actives, Eduspec, Serba Dinamik, Widad, and MyEG were all flat at 2.0 sen, 2.5 sen, 48 sen, and 83 sen respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 19.13 points to 10,240.03, the FBM 70 climbed 91.35 points to 12,119.98, and the FBMT 100 Index improved 17.31 points to 9,987.77.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index bagged 18.18 points to 10,215.58 and the FBM ACE perked up 0.15 of-a-point to 4,801.42.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 19.14 points to 16,530.22, and the Energy Index edged up 1.06 points to 680.61.

The Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.47 of-a-point to 175.29 and the Plantation Index dropped 45.91 points to 6,761.36.

BERNAMA