Bursa Malaysia turned mixed at midday, with the key index rising by 0.59% due to sustained buying interest in selected heavyweights.
At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 8.68 points to 1,483.85 from Monday’s close of 1,475.17.
The market bellwether opened 1.96 points better at 1,477.13 and moved between 1,476.06 and 1,485.58 throughout the morning session.
However, on the broader market, losers led gainers 399 to 373, while 394 counters were unchanged, 1,021 untraded and nine others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 1.84 billion units worth RM1.03 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the market seems to be directionless on Tuesday due to the lack of fresh catalysts.
“Hence, we expect the index to hover in the 1,475-1,480 range today (Tuesday), while buying interest may return to technology-related stocks after the sell-down yesterday,” he told Bernama.
At noon, Bursa heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd added three sen to RM8.80, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd rose five sen to RM8.13, Tenaga Nasional Bhd gained five sen to RM9.96, while Public Bank Bhd fell one sen to RM4.18, and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd slid two sen to RM5.42.
As for the actives, Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd increased one sen to 21 sen, while Sapura Energy Bhd slipped half-a-sen to five sen, CSH Alliance Bhd lost 1.5 sen to five sen, Pesona Metro Holdings Bhd went down one sen to 29 sen, and Velesto Energy Bhd was flat at 23.5 sen.
Meanwhile, MyEG Services Bhd strengthened two sen to 62.5 sen despite announcements that the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the civil service pension fund Retirement Fund (Incorporated) (KWAP) are divesting their shares in the company.
In a filing with the bourse on Tuesday, MyEG said vehicle owners can continue to renew road taxes and driving licences as usual through its existing channels, with users having the added flexibility now to forgo receiving physical copies of their documents.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 51.83 points to 10,785.6, the FBMT 100 Index increased by 53.43 points to 10,457.01, the FBM Emas Shariah Index surged 83.14 points to 11,104.41, the FBM 70 Index went up 36.09 points to 13,576.52, and the FBM ACE Index improved 20.51 points to 5,695.87.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.26 points to 189.26, the Financial Services Index bagged 12.11 points to 16,163.07, and the Plantation Index was 70.88 points firmer at 6,909.75, while the Energy Index weakened two points to 896.03.
