Bursa Malaysia was little changed at midday on Aug 24 as investors remained cautious amid the ongoing corporate earnings season, with attention firmly on earnings delivery, asset quality and management outlooks.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 0.25 point, or 0.01%, to 1,736.23 from its close of 1,736.48 on Aug 21. The index traded between an intraday low of 1,733.23 and a high of 1,739.47.
Among the broader indices, the FBM 70 fell 71.47 points, or 0.39%, to 18,079.57, while the FBM Emas declined 12.41 points to 12,819.87. The FBM Shariah eased 9.59 points to 12,632.20.
The broader market was also weaker, with 643 decliners outpacing 381 gainers, while 543 counters were unchanged. Trading volume stood at 2.03 billion units worth RM1.45 billion.
Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd led the losers, falling RM1.64 to RM41.56, followed by Allianz Malaysia Bhd, which dropped 68 sen to RM21.60. Hong Leong Industries Bhd lost 36 sen to RM17.26, while Petronas Dagangan Bhd shed 34 sen to RM19.28.
KPJ Healthcare Bhd was also among the top decliners, sliding 32 sen to RM2.80 on relatively heavy trading of 38.09 million shares.
On the upside, Concrete Engineering Products Bhd gained 26 sen to RM3.90, while Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd and Sunway Construction Group Bhd added 22 sen each to RM21.86 and RM8.12, respectively. Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd rose 20 sen to RM32, while Nestle (M) Bhd gained 20 sen to RM104.
NexG Bhd was the most actively traded counter, slipping 4.5 sen to 27.5 sen on 50.7 million shares, followed by Dagang NeXchange Bhd, which fell 2.5 sen to 48.5 sen. NationGate Holdings Bhd bucked the weaker trend, advancing nine sen to RM1.50.
