KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 28): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session higher on emerging buying momentum, as investors were positive on the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) 2021-2025, dealers said.
At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.51 points to 1,539.56 from Monday’s close of 1,5333.05.
The index, which opened 0.46 of-a-point higher at 1,533.51, moved between 1,526.28 and 1,539.68 throughout the session.
However, market breadth remained negative with losers outpacing gainers 539 to 399, while 397 counters were unchanged, 973 untraded and 24 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.71 billion units worth RM1.57 billion.
In a research note on Tuesday, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said the 12MP 2021-2025 tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in the Parliament on Monday should provide some impetus on sentiments.
“As the 12MP aims to revive the country’s pandemic-hit economy, huge development expenditure was allocated and we reckon this should be positive for the construction sector as the sector provides the highest multiplier effect on the economy.
“As we are into the tail-end of 2021, we believe infrastructure projects will be implemented in the fastest manner, hence should further boost the construction players. For today, we expect the index to trend within the 1,530-1,540 range,” it said.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd added one sen to RM8.11, Tenaga Nasional Bhd went up three sen to RM9.88, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd jumped 44 sen to RM8.70, while Public Bank Bhd and IHH Healthcare Bhd slipped two sen each to RM4.06 and RM6.66, respectively.
Of the actives, Fintec Global Bhd and AT Systematization Bhd were flat at two sen and six sen, respectively, KNM Group Bhd improved one sen to 25.5 sen, while Scope Industries Bhd eased half-a-sen to 37.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 27.55 points to 11,302.74, the FBMT 100 Index was 28.11 points better at 10,997.55, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 71.29 points to 12,357.93.
The FBM 70 slipped 33.81 points to 14,929.09, while the FBM ACE went up 15.2 points to 7,230.46.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index fell 3.72 points to 6,319.93, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 3.51 points to 204.77, and the Financial Services Index weakened by 56.67 points to 15,174.82. -BERNAMA -The Edge Markets