KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — Shares on Bursa Malaysia were mixed at mid-day in bucking the trend of its Asian peers who were trading higher, supported by positive sentiment and a firmer Wall Street, a dealer said.
At lunch break, the key FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 7.73 points lower at 1,635.90 from Friday’s close of 1,643.63 after opening 2.8 points better at 1,646.43.
The index fluctuated between 1,632.97 and 1,647.59 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was positive with gainers outnumbering decliners 367 to 305, while 376 counters were unchanged, 809 untraded and 19 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 1.45 billion shares worth RM786.87 million.
Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei index rose 1.55 per cent to 21,534.35, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng improved 1.65 per cent to 29,530.19.
The dealer said most Asian stock markets rose today, mainly attributed to progress in the US-China trade talks.
“We hope that both the US and China will find a win-win solution on trade soon, lifting stock markets worldwide.
“In the meantime, Bursa was perhaps mixed, as investors gauge the outcome of the meeting concluded on Friday in Beijing,” he said.
He added that the local bourse also witnessed profit-taking in finance-related stocks, but received some buying interest in small caps.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga fell four sen each to RM9.23 and RM12.62 respectively, Public Bank lost 64 sen to RM22.52 and PChem was flat at RM9.16.
Among actives, Konsortium Transnasional increased nine sen to 17.5 sen, Gets Global and Sealink International rose 3.5 sen each to 37 sen and 24 sen, while Bumi Armada was flat at 19 sen.
The FBM Emas Index declined 32.74 points to 11,521.10 and the FBMT100 Index decreased 37.34 points to 11,370.01, but the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 27.27 points higher at 11,715.33.
The FBM Ace Index narrowed 11.64 points to 4,820.51, while the FBM70 improved 19.45 points to 14,232.09.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index eased 173.66 points to 16,795.47, the Industrial Products and Services Index gained 0.22 of a point to 169.15, and the Plantation Index was 37.74 points higher at 7,223.85. — Bernama
