KUALA LUMPUR: Government-linked stocks rebounded at mid-morning, pushing the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) to positive territory.
As at 11.05am, key index holders Maybank and Sime Darby Plantation, which are linked to Permodalan Nasional, one of the largest fund management companies in Malaysia, and Tenaga Nasional, CIMB, IHH and Axiata – linked to sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional – all recorded an increase.
The FBM KLCI was 8.42 points higher at 1,498.48, with the money flow recorded at RM10.99 billion.
The index opened 8.60 points lower at 1,481.46 after the KLCI took a hit yesterday, sliding 2.68% or 41.14 points lower to 1490.06 points.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank added nine sen to RM8.29, Tenaga Nasional increased 10 sen to RM12.24, Public Bank firmed 14 sen to RM17.54, Petronas Chemicals inched up four sen to RM6.40, IHH and Axiata both perked eight sen to RM5.68 and RM4.22 respectively, CIMB gained two sen to RM4.88 and Sime Darby Plantation widened six sen to RM4.96.
All the counters, which contribute 53.48 points to the total composite index, have a direct link to the government-linked funds.
Meanwhile, consumer products remained as the top losers with Dutch Lady declining 28 sen to RM44.20 and Nestle shedding 40 sen to RM142.
As for the actives, Avillion and Mtouche Technology both went up half a sen to 16 sen and 16.5 sen respectively while MyEG rose two sen higher to RM1.24.
On the index board, almost all indices returned to the blue with the FBM Emas Index rising 62.12 points to 10,708.22 points while the FBMT 100 Index upticked 60.43 points to 10,498.81 and the FBM Ace gained 5,692.93 points to 5,692.93.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index recovered 63.52 points to 11,388.49 and the FBM 70 accumulated 83.47 points to 13,484.68.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index expanded 0.40 point to 143.38, the Financial Services Index bagged 83.34 points to 14,404.96 and the Plantation Index advanced 7.76 points to 6,923.60. – Feb 25, 2020, Bernama
