KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — Bursa Malaysia was higher at mid-morning, supported by persistent buying in selected heavyweights despite the cautious sentiment on regional peers, dealers said.
At 11am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 2.63 points to 1,394.09 from 1,391.46 at Tuesday’s close.
The key index opened 1.19 points easier at 1,390.27 this morning.
The broader market was also positive as advancers beat decliners 335 to 280, while 371 counters were unchanged, 1,272 untraded and 16 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.15 billion units worth RM545.30 million.
ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves said that Asian equities are expected to experience volatility on Wednesday, ahead of the anticipated release of the June US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.
“Investors will also focus on the initial wave of earnings reports, with Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Delta Airlines being among the companies slated to unveil their results,” he said in a note to Bernama today.
Besides earnings, he said, traders will seek indicators of decreasing inflation as the US Bureau of Labour Statistics discloses its CPI data for June.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank, CIMB and Tenaga Nasional slipped 1.0 sen each to RM8.73, RM5.20 and RM9.04, respectively, IHH Healthcare went down 2.0 sen to RM5.86, and Public Bank was flat at RM3.87.
Of the actives, Sarawak Consolidated eased half-a-sen to 48 sen, Salutica jumped 17.5 sen to 78 sen, RGB International improved 1.5 sen to 35.5 sen, and KNM Group edged up half-a-sen to 8.0 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 16.12 points to 10,272.67, the FBMT 100 Index perked up 14.82 points to 9,963.72, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 28.22 points higher at 10,572.58, the FBM 70 Index gained 3.21 points to 13,527.04, and the FBM ACE Index declined 9.82 points to 5,209.71.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index eased 0.35 of-a-point to 15,466.53, the Plantation Index added 2.96 points to 6,904.39, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 1.24 points to 160.29, and the Energy Index increased 7.23 points to 809.45. — Bernama
