BURSA Malaysia’s key index, the FBM KLCI, remained in positive territory backed by buying interest in blue chips.
This was driven by uptrend sentiment as the market awaits the outcome of the meeting between interim Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah as well as the stimulus package announcement today.
As at 12.30pm, key index holders were in blue as the morning session concludes. The FBM KLCI was 3.55 points higher at 1,498.74 after opening 1.54 points higher at 1,496.73.
However, on the broader market; losers thumped gainers 570 to 234 with 326 counters unchanged and 70 suspended. Turnover stood at 2.01 billion shares worth RM1.23 bil.
An analyst said that while the top 30 companies are backed by institutional investors, technology, as well as medium and small-cap stocks experienced a retreat as they wait for further market direction.
“The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has concluded his meeting with all 222 MPs and a decision is expected to be made soon.
“Meanwhile, the stimulus package which will be announced today at 4pm will be the compass for the nation’s economic direction for now,” she said.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional were both up four sen to RM8.37 and RM12.42 respectively, Public Bank was 22 sen up to RM17.42 while IHH was flat at RM5.66.
As for top gainers, Panasonic added 54 sen to RM34.44, Hong Leong Bank gained 34 sen to RM15.52 and Genting Plantation climbed 20 sen to RM10.20.
Of the actives, Advance Synergy shed 2.5 sen to 19.5 sen and Sapura Energy declined half-a-sen to 20.5 sen while Avillon perked half-a-sen to 16.5 sen.
On the overall index performance, the board was mostly in red, with the FBM Emas Index losing 7.04 points to 10,662.99, the FBMT 100 Index increasing 0.67 points to 10,464.78 and the FBM Ace shedding 57.11 points to 5,622.33.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 14.56 points to 11,336.61 and the FBM 70 declined 98.33 points to 13,294.04.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged lower by 0.10 of a point to 138.74, while the Financial Services Index gained 60.63 points to 14,436.73 and the Plantation Index rose 6.90 points to 6,978.21. – Feb 26, 2020, Bernama
