KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 ― Bursa Malaysia remained in the red at mid-morning due to continuous selling activities, especially among the banking and technology stocks.
At 11.15am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) decreased 1.52 points to 1,594.18 from yesterday’s close of 1,595.70.
The barometer index opened 0.88 of-a-point firmer at 1,596.58.
On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 360 to 240, while 381 counters were unchanged, 1,271 untraded and 27 others suspended.
Total turnover stood at 987.50 million units worth RM495.47 million.
In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it expects recovery-themed stocks to remain in the limelight amidst the volatile environment.
“Firmer commodity prices may provide positive sentiment for the energy and plantation stocks. We also expect traders to focus on construction-related stocks amidst stronger buying interest yesterday,” it said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB lost three sen each to RM8.80 and RM5.11, respectively, Public Bank was flat at RM4.67, IHH Healthcare lost seven sen to RM6.45, Press Metal dropped four sen to RM6.56, while Petronas Chemicals added 10 sen to RM10.36.
Of the actives, Datasonic added 2.5 sen to 52 sen, Tanco slid 7.5 sen to 36 sen, while Key Alliance, Ekovest and Widad stayed flat at one sen, 48.5 sen and 36.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 11.97 points to 11,089.60, the FBM Emas Index was 13.27 points weaker at 11,441.42, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 3.47 points to 12,091.92, the FBM 70 erased 20.68 points to 13,784.99, and the FBM ACE slumped 56.0 points to 5,790.32.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gave up 41.10 points to 16,638.47, while the Industrial Products and Services Index bagged 0.43 of-a-point to 215.0, and the Plantation Index jumped 18.62 points to 8,483.53. ― Bernama
