KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 ― Bursa Malaysia remained lower at mid-morning amid prevailing market concerns over daily Covid-19 confirmed cases staying above the 2,000 level for the fifth consecutive day.
At 11.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) losses narrowed, decreasing by 2.91 points to 1,597.38 as majority sector indices recovered to trade in positive territory as investors piled into recent beaten-down counters such as financial, energy, plantation, and construction.
The barometer index opened 0.14 of-a-point higher at 1,600.43 compared to Monday's close of 1,600.29.
The overall market breadth remained negative with losers outpacing gainers 520 to 328, while 416 counters were unchanged, 902 untraded and seven others suspended.
Total volume stood at 2.94 billion shares worth RM1.48 billion.
Most of the heavyweights also regained some traction with only nine counters in the red.
Top Glove dropped 17 sen to RM5.29, Press Metal lost 12 sen to RM5.26, Hartalega declined 28 sen to RM9.76, and Supermax was 20 sen lower at RM5.24.
MISC gained 13 sen to RM6.81 and Axiata was six sen higher at RM3.85.
Among the active counters, Censof went up 8.5 sen to 46.5 sen, Sedania dipped 10 sen to 30 sen, Focus Dynamics added 1.5 sen to 14 sen, and Key Asic was flat at 17.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 18.02 points easier at 11,769.18, the FBMT 100 decreased 17.14 points to 11,427.94, and the FBM 70 slid 9.19 points to 15,577.90.
The FBM Emas Shariah down 44.92 points to 13,166.01, while the FBM ACE recovered 26.85 points to 8,597.03.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index gained 1.83 points to 6,868.06, the Financial Services Index improved 20.28 points to 15,047.78, and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.26 points weaker at 194.94. ― Bernama
