KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia stayed lower in mid-afternoon today as investors sold selected heavyweight stocks, led by industrial products and services, ahead of the weekend, analysts said.
At 3.05 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dipped 2.26 points to 1,515.86 from Thursday’s close of 1,518.12. The benchmark index opened at 1,516.91, down 1.21 points.
The broader market remained negative, with decliners outnumbering gainers 508 to 247. A total of 440 counters remained unchanged, 1,151 untraded and 20 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.31 billion units, valued at RM890.93 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said technically, the benchmark index’s resistance is anticipated at around 1,533-1,538 and support at 1,498-1,503 today.
Of the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals lost 11 sen to RM3.25, Petronas Dagangan fell by 24 sen to RM20.90, and Press Metal Aluminium eased 4.0 sen to RM4.99. CelcomDigi slipped 3.0 sen to RM3.84, and CIMB was down 5.0 sen to RM6.82.
Among the most active stocks, Tanco added 2.0 sen to RM1.02, MYEG eased half-a-sen to 92.5 sen, and Reservoir Link Energy was flat at 35.5 sen. Gamuda rose 2.0 sen to RM4.76, and Signature Alliance Group gained 1.5 sen to 71.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index lost 14.80 points to 11,348.03, the FBMT 100 Index cut 11.16 points to 11,117.20, and the FBM ACE Index erased 25.64 points to 4,492.50.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 20.09 points to 11,320.65, but the FBM 70 Index gained 5.11 points to 16,288.42.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index reduced 30.79 points to 17,708.78, and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.25 points lower at 150.87. However, the Energy Index rose 8.80 points to 717.41 and the Plantation Index grew 29.15 points to 7,248.53.
