.JPG "An investor monitors the stock prices in the gallery of the RHB Investment Bank Bhd headquarters in Kuala Lumpur March 17, 2020. u00e2u20acu2022 Picture by Hari Anggara")
KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session mixed, as the continuous profit-taking in selected plantation as well as consumer products and services counters capped gains in the benchmark index, dealers said.
At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) went down 0.38 of-a-point to 1,583.50 from yesterday's close of 1,582.46.
The index opened 3.64 points better at 1,586.10 and moved between 1,578.63 and 1,586.10 throughout the session.
Market breadth was negative with losers leading gainers 513 to 368, while 442 counters were unchanged, 830 untraded, and 11 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 3.42 billion units worth RM1.82 billion.
A dealer said that most of the regional markets were mildly positive today, tracking the overnight gains on the Wall Street where the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 and NASDAQ hit fresh all-time highs.
Post — Asia Pacific holidays, he said traders in Asia will be positioning for important risk events in the week ahead, including the United States’ Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) monetary policy decision tomorrow and the expiry of the US$2 trillion (RM8.3 trillion) S&P 500 Index (SPX) and the S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) options on Friday.
“Participants will be focusing on defensive plays as the inflation narrative could see some fresh insights from the Federal Reserve.
“On the trade front, some upbeat headlines might drive some risk-on flows for the equity complex in the region as the United Kingdom-Australia free trade agreement is set to be announced later in the session,” he said.
He added that it is also worth keeping an eye on the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, as some countries which play an important role in trade with Asia have started to show strong signs of economic recovery.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 3.0 sen to RM8.22, Petronas Chemicals advanced 1.0 sen to RM8.11 and IHH Healthcare went up 5.0 sen to RM5.55, while Public Bank slipped 1.0 sen to RM4.22 and TNB fell 4.0 sen to RM10.02.
Of the actives, Serba Dinamik declined 5.0 sen to 69.5 sen and KNM was flat at 20.5 sen, while DNex and Privasia rose 2.0 sen each to 89 sen and 23 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 9.37 points to 11,555.84, the FBMT 100 Index shed 6.41 points to 11,237.52, while the FBM ACE perked 5.82 points to 7,673.39.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index reduced 19.49 points to 12,693.95, while the FBM 70 went down 23 points to 15,006.40.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index bagged 13.44 points to 15,324.91, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.55 of-a-point to 193.77 and the Plantation Index dipped 60.82 points to 6,617.14. — Bernama
