Bursa Malaysia edges higher after seesaw trade

On the broader market, gainers thumped losers 661 to 430 while 442 counters were unchanged, 467 untraded and 80 others suspended. ― Picture by Hari Anggara

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 — Bursa Malaysia’s barometre index was marginally up after a seesaw trade as a downtrend in the banking sector and fresh trade worries clouded market sentiment.

At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.48 of-a-point higher at 1,608.07 compared with Friday’s close of 1,607.59.

The index opened 0.82 of-a-point lower at 1,606.77.

On the broader market, gainers thumped losers 661 to 430 while 442 counters were unchanged, 467 untraded and 80 others suspended.

Volume stood at 4.78 billion shares worth RM2.51 billion.

The financial sector was one of the worst performers after a slew of disappointing third-quarter earnings results.

In addition, it was also reported that the Donald Trump administration is considering blacklisting China’s top chipmaker SMIC as well as oil and gas producer CNOOC, while Australia has threatened to take China to the World Trade Organisation after it imposed a series of tariffs on Australian products.

An analyst said the regional markets were also performing mixed following the trade concerns.

At home, Public Bank lost 52 sen to RM18.08, CIMB dropped 10 sen to RM3.73 and Sime Darby Plantation declined five sen to RM5.00.

In contrast, Hong Leong Bank surged 92 sen to RM17.94 and Tenaga Nasional added 14 sen to RM10.86.

Among the actives, AT Systematization and Kanger International were unchanged at 20 sen and 18.5 sen respectively, while Sapura Energy inched up half-a-sen to 12 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 28.70 points to 11,570.73, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 23.50 points to 11,344.65, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 86.03 points to 13,354.94, the FBM 70 rose 109.71 points to 14,850.10 and the FBM ACE added 198.90 points to 10,788.39.

Meanwhile, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 1.45 points to 163.93, the Plantation Index was 79.02 points better at 7,314.91 and the Financial Services Index slipped 36.30 points to 14,226.80. — Bernama

Source: Malay Mail