Bursa remains lower at mid-morning

Bursa Malaysia remained lower at mid-morning on continuous profit-taking activities, but losses were limited by gains in selected heavyweights such as Maxis, Petronas Dagangan and Public Bank.

At 11am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.31 points to 1,610.12, ahead of today’s release of the first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data.

The index opened 2.21 points weaker at 1,609.22 from yesterday’s 1,611.43

On the broader market, losers continued to outpace gainers 342 to 217 with 277 counters unchanged, 1,075 untraded and 23 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 894.28 million shares worth RM511.57 million.

Among the heavyweights, Maxis added four sen to RM5.36, with minimal impact expected from the cessation of the 3G radio access network lease arrangement by U Mobile Sdn Bhd.

Meanwhile, Petronas Gas added eight sen to RM16.72 and Petronas Dagangan rose 12 sen to RM24.52, riding on a rally in the oil market with Brent Crude steady at above US$72 per barrel.

Public Bank added four sen to RM22.52 and IOI Corp gained two sen to RM4.29.

Of the actively traded stocks, the newly listed Leong Hup International increased three sen to RM1.13, Vortex was up one sen to 28.5 sen, and Lambo was flat at 7.5 sen.

The FBM Emas Index lost 8.85 points to 11,344.32, the FBMT 100 Index fell 8.39 points to 11,178.50 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 14.66 points to 11,511.06.

The FBM 70 declined 7.62 points to 13,942.52 and the FBM Ace was 27.73 points lower at 4,420.76.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased 11.42 points to 16,590.21, the Plantation Index declined 3.06 points to 6,929.53, and the Industrial Products & Services Index was 0.42 of-a-point lower at 164.09.

- Bernama