KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 ― Shares on Bursa Malaysia remained in positive territory at mid-morning, supported by buying interest in the finance and healthcare sectors.
Public Bank, Top Glove, Hartalega and Maybank were the main contributors to the barometer index.
At 11am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 2.52 points higher at 1,579.42 from yesterday’s close of 1,576.90.
The index opened 5.13 points higher at 1,582.03.
However, overall market breadth was negative. Losers led gainers by 478 to 403, while 398 counters were unchanged, 657 untraded and 25 others suspended.
Total volume stood at 3.79 billion shares worth RM1.93 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd in a note today highlighted that while there are no signs of a retreat from the healthcare sector, the recent study by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) which forecast sales to rise by 3.3 per cent year-on-year to US$426.0 billion will continue to anchor gains on technology stocks.
Amid the upbeat momentum, the key index may head towards the next resistance at 1,580, followed by the recent peak at 1,590, it said.
“For now, investors would keep an eye on Bank Negara Malaysia’s monetary policy decision later in the evening.
“Although there could be another round of rate cuts, we think that the weakness in the banking sector may be cushioned by the other sectors that are heavily reliant on debt financing such as the construction, utilities as well as oil and gas sectors,” it added.
Among heavyweights, Maybank added four sen to RM7.87, Tenaga shed six sen to RM11.80, Public Bank rose 42 sen to RM17.76, Hartalega increased 22 sen to RM16.72 and Petronas Chemicals slipped 14 sen to RM6.80.
Of the most active, DGB Asia, Securemetric, Anzo and Borneo Oil edged up half-a-sen each to 3.5 sen, 13 sen, 23.5 sen and 3.5 sen respectively, while AT System was flat at 9.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index added 8.7 points to 11,096.69, the FBMT 100 Index gained 10.21 points to 10,947.47 and the FBM ACE advanced 92.54 points to 7,145.35.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 26.98 points to 12,707.52 and the FBM 70 reduced 16.32 points to 13,564.68.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.91 point to 141.86, the Plantation Index slid 29.90 points to 6,836.74, but the Financial Services Index surged 119.71 points to 13,326.43. ― Bernama
