KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia's key benchmark index settled lower at the end of the morning trading session due to mild profit-taking in selected heavyweights amid a mixed regional market performance, a dealer said.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) decreased 0.29 per cent, or 4.34 points, to 1,459.03 from Tuesday's close of 1,463.37.
The FBM KLCI opened 2.24 points easier at 1,461.13 and moved between 1,456.56 and 1,462.01 throughout the session.
In the broader market, gainers beat decliners 399 to 372 while 416 counters were unchanged, 1,177 untraded, and 10 suspended. Turnover stood at 1.94 billion units worth RM954.55 million.
Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng opined that there were some bargain-hunting activities at around the 1,460 level yesterday; hence this may act as the immediate psychological support.
"Thus we expect the index to hover in the 1,460-1,470 range today," he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and CelcomDigi fell two sen each to RM9.13 and RM4.29, respectively, and Public Bank decreased one sen to RM4.23, while CIMB, Petronas Chemicals and Tenaga Nasional were three sen lower at RM5.78, RM7.25 and RM9.92, respectively.
Of the actives, Widad and TWL gained half-a-sen each to 45.5 sen and 3.5 sen, respectively, Top Glove added one sen to 79 sen, Edaran firmed 15 sen to 96.5 sen, and EA Technique slipped five sen to 33.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gave up 10.63 points to 10,791.45, the FBMT 100 Index dipped 13.87 points to 10,454.84, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up 5.42 points to 11,003.53, the FBM 70 Index increased 55.95 points to 14,309.28, and the FBM ACE Index rose 58.16 points to 5,155.69.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index eased 49.60 points to 16,410.23, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.20 of-a-point to 172.65, and the Energy Index trimmed 0.20 of-a-point to 870.68; but the Plantation Index improved 4.64 points to 6,962.50. - Bernama
