KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 — Bursa Malaysia remained higher at mid-afternoon against a backdrop of mixed performance in the regional markets.
At 3.05pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 0.21 per cent or 3.34 points to 1,619.36 from yesterday’s close of 1,616.02.
The benchmark index opened 2.72 points easier at 1,613.3.
FXTM market analyst Han Tan said the recent flare-up in the US-China tensions continued to weigh on the Asian markets as investors hunkered down for what was feared to be a long, drawn-out dispute between the world’s two economic powerhouses.
“At this point, it is hard to see either the US or China having enough willpower to resolve their differences, much less before the new US tariffs on Chinese goods kick-off on Sept 1.
“Should the barriers to global trade be raised next month, that would be another kick in the gut for risk appetite and may prompt another sell-off in risk assets,” he said.
Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.44 per cent to 20,674.82, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index rose 0.10 per cent to 6,280.79, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index went down 0.32 per cent to 26,037.16, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.49 per cent to 3,168.94.
On Bursa Malaysia, gainers outstripped losers 401 to 310 while 361 counters remained unchanged, 832 untraded and 18 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.29 billion units worth RM802.13 million.
Among heavyweights, Public Bank advanced 16 sen to RM21.58, TNB added two sen to RM13.86, Petronas Chemicals appreciated nine sen to RM7.39, Maybank and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM8.62 and RM5.75, respectively while Digi shed one sen to RM5.01.
Of the active stocks, Datasonic bagged two sen to 81.5 sen, Ekovest rose 1.5 sen to 83 sen, Iskandar Waterfront went up four sen to 92.5 sen, Netx and Dynaciate were flat at 1.5 sen and 8.5 sen, respectively, and VSolar edged down half 16.5 sen.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 30.311 points to 11,958.32, the FBM 70 expanded 81.19 points to 14,360.68, the FBM Emas Index went up 33.22 points to 11,473.29, the FBMT 100 Index was 32.93 points higher at 11,306.33, and the FBM Ace put on 16.41 points to 4,668.48.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased 36.8 points to 15,894.12, the Industrial Products and Services Index gained 0.94 of-a-point to 152.55 and the Plantation Index trimmed 32.29 points to 6,724.92. — Bernama
