KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 — Share prices on Bursa Malaysia stayed mixed at mid-day with mild profit-taking in selected heavyweights including finance and healthcare-related stocks, analysts said.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.15 per cent or 2.44 points lower at 1,533.36 from yesterday's close of 1,535.80.
The benchmark index opened 3.84 points higher at 1,539.64 and moved between 1,529.10 and 1.539.89 throughout the morning session.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 394 to 325, with 367 counters unchanged, 891 untraded and 21 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 1.73 billion shares worth RM1.17 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said investor confidence has improved as Wall Street staged another rebound overnight to lend a helping hand, solidifying market sentiment as authorities ramp up efforts to stabilise the jitters of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic.
Meanwhile, Maybank IB Research said investors’ interest could shift from the lower liners to large- and mid-cap stocks in the near term.
“Technically, we expect the FBM KLCI to range between 1,520 and 1,550 today. Downside supports are at 1,515 and 1,500,” it said in a research note.
Among heavyweights, Malaysia Airports gained 17 sen to RM6.97, Sime Darby rose five sen to RM2.20, Dialog Group added five sen to RM3.36, while Hartalega dropped 12 sen to RM5.67, Petronas Gas eased 26 sen to RM16.20 and Top Glove shed eight sen to RM5.62.
Maybank declined three sen to RM8.37 and Public Bank lost 16 sen to RM18.04.
Of the actives, AirAsia Group recovered five sen to RM1.20, Impiana Hotels added half-a-sen to 3.5 sen and XDL eased half-a-sen to to 15 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 7.72 points to 10,910.55, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 22.37 points to 11,646.72 and the FBMT 100 Index improved 3.77 points to 10,720.37.
The FBM 70 was 90.36 points stronger at 13,675.82 and the FBM Ace recovered 28.30 points to 5,384.30.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.09 point to 144.42, the Financial Services Index was 18.54 points lower at 14,664.18 and the Plantation Index increased 42.90 points to 7,187.69. — Bernama
