KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — The key index of Bursa Malaysia remained higher at mid-afternoon today amid cautious sentiment in the broader market.

At 3.05 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.74 points to 1,591.82 from Friday’s close of 1,588.08. It opened 1.31 points easier at 1,586.77.

Market breadth was negative with decliners outpacing gainers 530 to 424, while 435 counters were unchanged, 901 untraded, and 15 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 2.52 billion units worth RM1.48 billion.

Among the heavyweights,  Maybank gained four sen to RM8.19, Public Bank, TNB and CIMB added one sen each to RM4.24, RM9.77, and RM5.24 respectively, while Petronas Chemicals fell two sen to RM8.79 and IHH Healthcare declined one sen to RM6.59.

Of the actives, Dagang Nexchange advanced 2.5 sen to 78 sen, Fitter Diversified increased 3.5 sen to 45 sen, MYEG appreciated four sen to RM1.08, Metronic was flat at three sen. AT Systematization inched down half-a-sen to 5.5 sen and NWP Holdings eased 2.5 sen to 26.5 sen. 

On the index boards, the FBM Emas Index strengthened 15.83 points to 11,725.23,  the FBMT 100 Index bagged 22.07 points to 11,361.86, the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 2.03 points to 12,791.13, the FBM 70 was 12.04 points higher at 15,388.67, and the FBM ACE slid 35.47 points to 7,135.41.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.49 of-a-point to 210.23, the Plantation Index eased 5.09 points to 7,016.85, and the Financial Services Index widened 66.0 points to 15,784.05. — Bernama