KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 ― Shares on Bursa Malaysia were lower at mid-day on cautious market sentiment, as it dismissed a tech-fuelled overnight rally on Wall Street and coupled with soft economic data in Europe.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 0.53 point to 1651.88 after having closed at 1,652.41 yesterday.
The benchmark index, which opened 1.33 points higher at 1,653.74, moved between 1,650.32 and 1,655.05 throughout the morning session.
Losers outnumbered gainers 430 to 244, while 395 counters were unchanged, 851 untraded and 16 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 1.58 billion shares worth RM879.41 million.
Maybank Investment Bank Research said there had been some selling pressure in large-cap stocks since yesterday.
“However, bargain hunting in second and third liners lifted sombre domestic sentiment, while small caps are likely to continue generating trading interest in the near-term.
“Technically, we expect the FBM KLCI to range between 1,645 and 1,665 today. Downside supports are at 1,650 and 1,636,” it added.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM8.76, Public Bank declined six sen to RM22.64, Tenaga slipped two sen to RM13.72 and PetChem rose 11 sen to RM7.61.
For the most actives, Green Packet and its warrants bagged 1.5 sen and one sen each to 56.5 sen and 14 sen respectively, while KNM gained one sen to 42 sen.
The FBM Emas Index fell 12.78 points to 11,743.76, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 11.86 points to 11,564.52 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 20.91 points to 12,112.35.
The FBM Ace rose 6.8 points to 4,774.33, but the FBM 70 lost 48.20 points to 14,816.14.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index eased 12.28 points to 16,407.59, the Plantation Index inched up 3.30 points to 6,808.21 and the Industrial Products & Services Index edged up 0.7 point to 155.09. ― Bernama
