Bursa Malaysia almost flat at midday
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.009 per cent, or 0.13 of-a-point weaker at 1,511.51 from Tuesday's close of 1,511.64.
The benchmark index opened 0.25 of-a-point higher at 1,511.89 and moved between 1,509.42 and 1,512.96 throughout the morning session.
The broader market was negative, with 419 decliners surpassing 288 gainers. Another 441 counters were unchanged, while 1,258 were untraded and 13 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.62 billion shares worth RM818.59 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said in a note that interest would persist in gold and oil and gas-related counters, given a prolonged Israel-Iran tension.
"Meanwhile, with Malaysia advancing 11 spots to 23rd in the World Competitiveness Ranking 2025, which measures how business-friendly a country is, we believe investors should continue to look into the construction sector, supported by data centre investments and the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) initiative," it said.
The Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement yesterday that the latest ranking, up from 34th last year, also reaffirmed the nation's trajectory towards becoming one of the world's top 12 most competitive economies by 2033 as targeted under the MADANI Economy framework.
The stockbroking and financial services company also said that it remains optimistic about the solar sector, as many players reported increasing revenue and profits and are expected to benefit from the country's renewable energy goals.
On the technical front, Malacca Securities noted that resistance is anticipated to range between 1,526 and 1,531 points, while support is located between 1,491 and 1,496 points today.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank gained 6.0 sen to RM9.61, Tenaga dipped 6.0 sen to RM14.24, Public Bank added 1.0 sen to RM4.23, CIMB slid 1.0 sen to RM6.65, and IHH Healthcare eased 5.0 sen to RM6.84.
On the most active stocks, Magma Group rose 3.0 sen to 46 sen, NexG dropped 1.5 sen to 34.5 sen, SNS Network Technology gained 4.0 sen to 53.5 sen, Tanco Holdings inched up 1.0 sen to 98.5 sen and Alam Maritim Resources slid half-a-sen to 3.0 sen
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index reduced 5.55 points to 11,297.73, the FBMT 100 Index lost 7.30 points to 11,076.63, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 8.53 points to 11,309.84.
The FBM 70 Index lost 35.54 points to 16,187.46, and the FBM ACE Index was 12.86 points lower at 4,430.11.
By sectors, the Plantation Index trimmed 13.56 points to 7,237.18, while the Energy Index increased by 5.43 points to 744.20.
The Financial Services Index gained 3.38 points to 17,399.95, and the Industrial Products and Services Index decreased 0.08 of-a-point to 150.07.
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