At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 4.80 points to 1,275.83 from Monday’s close of 1,280.63.
After opening 63.35 points lower at 1,217.28 this morning, the benchmark index moved between 1,211.95 and 1,278.43 during the morning session.
Market breadth was negative as losers thumped gainers 707 to 232, with 232 counters unchanged, 845 not traded and 17 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.68 billion shares worth RM1.95 bil.
A dealer said several market players have decided to acquire quality stocks at the current low prices following the sharp downturn due to ‘panic selling’, which saw the FBM KLCI falling its lowest in a decade yesterday.
“Although technical indicators are suggesting that the oversold position may be due for a recovery, this momentum may be short-lived,” he added.
Top gainers among index-linked counters were consumer stocks such as Nestle and Petronas Dagangan, which rose by 80 sen and 32 sen to RM134 and RM19.14, respectively.
Among heavyweights, Maybank gained 13 sen to RM7.42, Tenaga fell 10 sen to RM11.20, Public Bank declined eight sen to RM14.42 and IHH decreased 20 sen to RM4.80.
Of the actives, Sapura Energy eased half-a-sen to nine sen, Hibiscus Petroleum added one sen to 31.5 sen and Bumi Armada was flat at 13.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index contracted 55.60 points to 8,733.76, the FBM Emas Shariah Index narrowed 71.17 points to 9,439.16 and the FBM 70 gave up 123.93 points to 9,979.79.
The FBMT 100 Index erased 48.62 points to 8,659.89 and the FBM Ace depreciated 119.71 points to 3,662.06.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 2.16 points to 101.52, the Financial Services Index lost 21.90 points to 11,873.39 and the Plantation Index was 111.77 points lower at 5,724.60. – March 17, 2020, Bernama
