KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 — Share prices on Bursa Malaysia trended lower at mid-morning on profit taking in blue chip stocks, after yesterday’s high gains, while tracking the mixed performance of Asian peers.
At 11.04am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 5.74 points lower at 1,777.24, after opening 1.91 points lower at 1,775.06, from yesterday’s close of 1,782.98
On the broader market, losers led gainers 314 to 305 with 362 counters unchanged, 853 untraded and 23 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.28 billion shares worth RM548.43 million.
A dealer said the Asian equities market was looking for direction today after the European Central Bank hinted it might taper its stimulus plan in October, after leaving interest rates on hold, resulting in a jump by the euro.
Markets also awaited China’s trade data for August, expected to be out today, he said.
Among the top losers, British American Tobacco fell 32 sen to RM44.28, Petronas Dagangan shed 23 sen to RM24.22, Ajinomoto slipped 20 sen to RM19.16 and Bursa Malaysia reduced 18 sen to RM10.24.
For the heavyweights, Maybank gained four sen to RM9.51, Sime Darby improved five sen to RM9.08, CIMB Group fell 14 sen to RM6.77, while Tenaga and Public Bank were flat at RM14.56 and RM20.58, respectively.
Among active counters, Sino Hua-An improved three sen to 21 sen, PUC and JAG edged up half-a-sen to 14.5 sen respectively, while PDZ Holdings and Palette Multimedia gained 1.5 sen each to six sen and 23.5 sen.
The FBM Emas Index was 31.05 points lower at 12,669.60, FBM 70 slipped 25.05 points to 15,227.98, the FBMT 100 Index slid 34.98 points to 12,336.67, the FBM Ace fell 23.83 points to 6,664.33 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 11.72 points to 12,872.63.
Sector-wise, the Finance Index fell 44.62 points to 16,696.90 and the Plantation Index slid 2.18 points 7,879.02.But, the Industrial Index bagged 1.47 points to 3,206.61. — Bernama
