KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 — Bursa Malaysia recouped early losses to move into positive territory at midday, amid a mostly lower regional market performance, with buying support seen in heavyweights led by healthcare and telecommunications and media counters, a dealer said.
At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.81 of-a-point to 1,469.16 from yesterday’s closing of 1,468.35.
The market bellwether opened 0.81 points better at 1,469.16.
On the broader market, decliners led advancers 400 versus 266, while 396 counters were unchanged, 1,207 untraded, and 13 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.26 billion units worth RM640.91 million.
In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the global sentiment may remain weak as selling pressure returned on Wall Street, amid recession worries on expectation of further monetary tightening from global central banks.
“Investors might be eyeing the quarantine-cutting measure for overseas travellers from next month in China but will adopt a cautious tone given the Covid-19 pandemic is still not resolved.
“We expect traders to focus on glove companies. Nevertheless, we expect the downside risk shall be cushioned by the return of foreign funds,” said the brokerage firm.
Commodities-wise, both Brent crude oil and crude palm oil prices have declined, hovering around US$80 (RM354) and RM3,850 per tonne, respectively.
“As such, resistance is envisaged along 1,500 to 1,510, while support is spotted at 1,450 to 1,460,” it said.
On the local bourse, heavyweights Maybank and Public Bank gained two sen each to RM8.73 and RM4.42, respectively, IHH Healthcare added nine sen to RM6.09, while both Petronas Chemicals and CIMB fell seven sen to RM8.33 and RM5.71, respectively.
Of the actives, Top Glove rose four sen to 79.5 sen, Careplus edged up 2.5 sen to 45 sen, Sunview ticked up two sen to 63 sen, Yew Lee Pacific lost 2.5 sen to 37.5 sen, and Advance Synergy was flat at 18 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index climbed 8.15 points to 10,548.05, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 16.09 points higher at 10,665.76, the FBMT 100 Index went up 10.44 points to 10,260.11 and the FBM 70 Index rose by 34.18 points to 12,919.06, while the FBM ACE Index declined 55.26 points to 5,446.39.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index was 3.55 points lower at 778.28, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.27 of-a-point to 178.23, the Financial Services Index dipped 5.92 points to 16,545.59, and the Plantation Index slipped 36.45 points to 6,785.55. — Bernama
