KLCI up 0.17pct at midday amid weaker market
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 2.62 points to 1,526.46, up 0.17 per cent from Wednesday's close of 1,523.84. The gains were led by Maybank, YTL Power, and CelcomDigi.
Maybank rose nine sen to RM9.79, while YTL Power and CelcomDigi added eight sen each to RM3.73 and RM3.80, respectively. Collectively, the three counters contributed 3.80 points to the index.
The benchmark opened 3.87 points higher at 1,527.71 and fluctuated between 1,523.22 and 1,528.72 during the morning session.
Market breadth remained negative. Decliners outpaced gainers 446 to 278, while 477 counters were unchanged, 1,194 untraded, and 17 suspended.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd noted that the local bourse ended higher on Wednesday as it tracked gains on Wall Street and regional markets, supported by improved breadth and stronger trading activity.
"The KLCI may continue to consolidate with a slight upward bias, buoyed by the conclusion of the second round of US-China trade talks in London.
"However, broader market sentiment remains cautious amid lingering uncertainty over the pending US-Malaysia tariff agreement and the traditionally soft seasonality for June. Investor confidence remains under pressure amid a fragile global trade environment," it said in a research note today.
Among other gainers in the heavyweight group, IHH Healthcare rose four sen to RM6.90, Petronas Gas climbed 16 sen to RM17.86, Maxis added four sen to RM3.63 and Petronas Chemicals was three sen higher at RM3.35.
In active trade, Jiankun inched up half-a-sen to three sen, while MYEG, Tanco and Velesto were flat at 97 sen, 97.5 sen and 18.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 7.98 points to 11,445.72, the FBMT 100 Index gained 10.40 points to 11,213.94, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 8.03 points to 11,400.70.
The FBM 70 Index slipped 19.92 points to 16,505.30, while the FBM ACE Index dropped 36.0 points to 4,508.05.
By sector, the Energy Index advanced 6.54 points to 730.31 and the Financial Services Index rose 2.31 points to 17,781.46. The Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.03 points to 152.28, while the Plantation Index declined 9.32 points to 7,204.50.
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