KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — Bursa Malaysia stayed lower at mid-morning today on extended profit-taking following yesterday’s window dressing activities, analysts said.
At 11.02am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 4.21 points weaker at 1,594.90 from Wednesday's close of 1,599.11.
The index opened 11.98 points lower at 1,1587.13.
Market breadth was negative with losers leading gainers 349 to 227, while 330 counters remained unchanged, 1,099 untraded and 28 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 777.09 million shares worth RM507.69 million.
Oanda Asia Pacific senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said on the external front, most equities were broadly flat due to the lack of catalyst to set pulses racing.
On the development in the United States (US), he said the Democrat-dominated US House of Representatives is now voting on President Donald Trump’s impeachment.
“The president’s impeachment is not to be taken lightly. The whole exercise will be pointless though, with Republican House representatives’ aggressive defence of President Trump today being a strong clue as to its fate.
“The House may vote to impeach the president, but the whole process will be dead on arrival once it arrives at the Republican-controlled Senate,” he said.
Among heavyweights, IHH Healthcare eased 37 sen to RM5.56, Petronas Chemicals was down 14 sen at RM7.24, Hong Leong Bank fell 28 sen to RM17.22 and Petronas Gas dipped 20 sen to RM16.80.
Of the actives, PriceWorth and Yong Tai were flat at four sen and 18 sen respectively, Inari decreased 15 sen to RM1.73 and Ekovest shed one sen to 83.5 sen.
Top losers were led by F&N which declined 48 sen to RM34.32, followed by IHH, Hong Leong Bank and Petronas Gas.
Meanwhile, top gainers Nestle improved RM2.60 to RM146.80, Dutch Lady increased 30 sen to RM46.30 and LPI gained 22 sen to RM14.96.
The FBM Emas Index shed 32.25 points to 11,323.25, the FBM Emas Shariah Index depreciated 41.06 points to 11,938.76 while the FBMT 100 Index declined 30.90 points to 11,125.04.
However, the FBM Ace bucked the trend and was 18.05 points higher at 5,016.43 but the FBM 70 fell 45.47 points to 14,086.95.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slid 34.44 points to 15,501.81, the Plantation Index lost 17.61 points to 7,540.67 and the Industrial Products and Services Index fell 1.11 points to 152.31. — Bernama
