KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 19): The main index at Bursa Malaysia pared some of its gains at the midday break Tuesday as broader market sentiment appeared lukewarm to the government’s RM15 billion Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia (Permai) assistance package.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 2.78 points to 1,612.30. The index had earlier climbed to a high of 1,618.41.
Declining issuers led advancers by 370 to 365, while 728 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 4.16 billion shares valued at RM2.50 billion.
The gainers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Toyo Ventures Holdings Bhd, Milux Corp Bhd, PMB Technology Bhd, Khind Bhd, Samaiden Group Bhd and Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd.
At 10.01am, the FBM KLCI was down 11.40 points at 1,615.61.
Market breadth was tepid with 551 losers and 311 gainers, while 354 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 1.73 billion shares valued at RM840.78 million.
The top losers included Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK), Euro Holdings Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLB), Asia File Corp Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and Hong Leong Capital Bhd.
The actively traded stocks included Pegasus Heights Bhd, XOX Bhd, PNE PCB Bhd, Kanger International Bhd and AT Systematization Bhd.
The gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Kobay Technology Bhd, JF Technology Bhd, PMB Technology Bhd, UWC Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd and G3 Global Bhd.
Technology and manufacturing counters were among the top gainers on Bursa Malaysia today, as investors anticipate higher demand for computer-related products and technology amid global lockdown policies.
The index had slipped to a low of 1,608.64 points earlier.
Hong Leong Investment Bank’s head of retail research Ng Jun Seng told theedgemarkets.com he expects range-bound trade ahead of BNM s OPR meeting and elevated Covid-19 infections.
“I think everybody is watching whether there will be a rate cut in the upcoming OPR meeting. Banking stocks are taking a hit because the market expects BNM to cut rates,” he said.
According to him, investors were also cautious as they were still assessing the impacts of the recent movement control order (MCO 2.0) and conditional movement control order (CMCO) on the market, economy and corporate earnings.
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 15): The main index at Bursa Malaysia slipped at midday break today as index-linked heavyweights, including Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and Public Bank Bhd, dragged.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 3.88 points at 1,631.83. The index had earlier risen to a high of 1,637.88.
Losers led gainers by 368 to 314, while 733 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 3.09 billion shares valued at RM2.17 billion.
The decliners included KESM Industries Bhd, IHH Healthcare Bhd, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, Tasco Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, MISC Bhd, Maybank, Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Public Bank and Hartalega Holdings Bhd.