KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — Bursa Malaysia remained in the red at mid-afternoon, driven by continued selling in selected heavyweights, in line with weaker sentiment in the regional markets, dealers said.
At 3pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 2.57 points to 1,499.44 from Thursday’s close of 1,501.97.
The index opened 1.39 points better at 1,503.36 but ended the morning session slightly lower.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 569 to 267, while 438 counters were unchanged, 915 untraded, and 32 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.35 billion units worth RM1.28 billion.
A dealer said that regionally, Asian bourses were mixed Friday, as investors were awaiting more regional economic releases that could provide a clearer picture on how the Delta variant of COVID-19 was affecting growth.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank rose 2.0 sen to RM8.03 and Public Bank was flat at RM3.95, while Petronas Chemicals slipped 3.0 sen to RM7.96, Tenaga Nasional declined 4.0 sen to RM9.66, and IHH Healthcare decreased 5.0 sen to RM5.78.
Among the actives, Serba Dinamik earned half-a-sen to 42.5 sen, KNM advanced 1.0 sen to 21 sen, Dagang NeXchange declined 4.0 sen to 77.5 sen, and Komarkcorp went down 1.0 sen to 15 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 36.01 points lower at 10,971.49, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 32.99 points to 10,690.88, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 59.96 points to 12,026.99, the FBM 70 dropped 101.91 points to 14,435.36, and the FBM ACE contracted 90.05 points to 7,054.98.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index climbed 4.13 points to 14,775.46, the Plantation Index shed 2.63 points for 6,118.90, and the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.91 of-a-point to 187.89. — Bernama
