KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 8): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session mixed, amidst the lack of strong buying interest.

At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 0.1 of-a-point to 1,466.98 from Wednesday's closing of 1,466.88.

The market bellwether opened 0.49 of-a-point higher at 1,467.37 and moved between 1,462.59 and 1,469.12 throughout the session.

On the broader market, losers led gainers 531 to 302, while 345 counters were unchanged, 1,077 untraded and 11 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.88 billion units valued at RM869.12 million.

Hong Leong Investment Bank said the FBM KLCI’s near-term consolidation will prevail as investors await more policy leads from the unity government and weigh on external volatility fuelled by inflation and interest rate jitters.

“As long as the index is able to maintain its posture above 1,454 or support the trend line, we remain optimistic that the FBM KLCI could resume its upward momentum after a brief consolidation,” it said in a note on Thursday.

At noon, Bursa heavyweights Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) jumped 11 sen to RM9.18, Hong Leong Bank Bhd strengthened 12 sen to RM20.46, and Digi.Com Bhd advanced seven sen to RM3.82, while Public Bank Bhd was flat at RM4.42, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) declined one sen to RM8.64, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd fell one sen to RM5.65, and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd shed 13 sen to RM8.42.

Among the actives, Borneo Oil Bhd edged up half-a-sen to 2.5 sen, while KNM Group Bhd was flat at five sen, MQ Technology Bhd fell 1.5 sen to five sen, AHB Holdings Bhd discounted three sen to 15.5 sen, and Advance Synergy Bhd edged down half-a-sen to 17 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index reduced 7.17 points to 10,536.49, the FBMT 100 Index went down 4.78 points to 10,240.74, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dwindled 1.08 points to 10,685.98, the FBM 70 narrowed 27.97 points to 12,873.35, and the FBM ACE shed 39.9 points to 5,458.81.    

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 11.62 points easier at 16,471.94, the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked down 1.23 points to 180.14, the Plantation Index improved 3.63 points to 6,729.94, and the Energy Index trimmed 8.62 points to 779.77.