malaysiangKUALA LUMPUR, Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session in negative territory due to profit-taking in selected heavyweights, primarily driven by YTL-related counters, according to an analyst.
YTL Corp fell 12 sen to RM2.54, while YTL Power International declined by 11 sen to RM3.78, contributing to a 3.80-point drop in the composite index.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was down 4.99 points at 1,668.39, compared to Wednesday’s close of 1,673.38.
The benchmark index opened 3.19 points lower at 1,670.19.
In the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers by 553 to 350, with 476 counters remaining unchanged, 1,136 untraded, and 51 suspended.
Turnover totalled 1.66 billion shares, valued at RM1.17 billion.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the performance of the local bourse was counterintuitive as broader markets were doing well, following China’s announcement of another stimulus package to support top Chinese banks and encourage more lending.
‘Oil prices h
ave decreased, reducing their appeal, while United States yields have been increasing. I believe this is just a temporary pause in an overall bullish trend, as local investors acknowledge the impressive rally.
‘They may be taking some profits ahead of US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s speech tonight. Ultimately, I think some profit taking (will take place),’ he told Bernama.
Bursa’s heavyweight Maybank fell six sen to RM10.64, CIMB lost one sen to RM8.27, Tenaga Nasional edged down two sen to RM15, Public Bank added three sen to RM4.66, and IHH Healthcare was flat at RM7.14.
In active counters, Artroniq and Top Glove improved two sen to 10 sen and RM1.01, respectively, Sarawak Cable ticked up three sen to 13.5 sen, MY E.G. Services trimmed 1.5 sen to 88.5 sen and OCR Group was flat at 5.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index lost 43.58 points to 12,440.46, the FBMT 100 Index fell 44.18 points to 12,140.32, the FBM 70 Index dropped 93 points to 17,482.77, the FBM ACE Index shed 3.57 points to
5,128.11, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased by 42.60 points to 12,323.50.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.33 points to 176.36, the Plantation Index decreased by 35.45 points to 7,217.49, the Energy Index fell 0.48 of-a-point to 870.21, and the Financial Services Index lost 21.66 points to 19,622.15.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
