Kuala Lumpur:Bursa Malaysia's main index concluded the morning session on a positive note, recovering from earlier declines due to bargain hunting and renewed buying support, despite mixed signals from Wall Street and weaker regional markets.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 2.80 points, reaching 1,622.31 at 12.30 pm, compared to the previous day's closing value of 1,619.51. The index initially opened 1.25 points higher at 1,620.76 and fluctuated between 1,616.19 and 1,625.88 during the session.
In the broader market, there were 584 decliners compared to 308 gainers, with 474 counters remaining unchanged, 1,357 untraded, and 11 suspended. The total turnover for the session was 1.59 billion units, valued at RM1.21 billion.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd noted that the FBM KLCI is likely to remain within a specific range due to ongoing external and domestic challenges. It highlighted that caution prevails among investors ahead of the US mid-term elections and ongoing US-Iran tensions. Domestically, while foreign fund inflows offer some support, factors such as a mixed earnings outlook for the November reporting season, institutional portfolio adjustments, and political uncertainties might continue to affect market sentiment.
Among prominent stocks, Maybank increased by two sen to RM10.00, Public Bank rose three sen to RM4.82, and CIMB advanced seven sen to RM6.99. Conversely, Tenaga Nasional decreased by 12 sen to RM13.18, and IHH Healthcare dropped by five sen to RM7.80.
Active trading saw GIIB and NWE Resources each gaining half a sen to 50.5 sen and 20 sen, respectively, while Datasonic and Ni Hsin remained steady at 26.5 sen and 34 sen, respectively. Top Glove experienced a one-sen decline to 95 sen.
Leading the top gainers was United Plantations, which increased by 44 sen to RM29.74, followed by Fraser and Neave, which rose 42 sen to RM20.70. Other notable gainers included RHB Bank, Mega Fortris, and AMMB. In contrast, among the top losers were Nestle, Malaysian Pacific Industries, Petronas Dagangan, Kelington, and Mi Technovation.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slightly decreased by 0.35 of a point to 12,071.95, while the FBM Top 100 Index saw a rise of 3.80 points to 11,883.08. The FBM Mid 70 Index fell 64.52 points to 17,323.05, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 57.59 points to 12,043.94, and the FBM ACE Index declined by 34.36 points to 5,308.63.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.95 of a point to 177.82, the Energy Index fell by 8.89 points to 829.00, while the Financial Services Index made a significant gain of 157.87 points to 18,727.28, and the Plantation Index rose by 53.94 points to 8,756.18.