KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 11): Bursa Malaysia remained lower at midday on Thursday due to selling pressure in selected heavyweights, mainly in the industrial products and services sectors. 

Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd eased eight sen to RM4.82 and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd slid six sen to RM6.94. Both stocks pulled the composite index down by a combined 1.87 points.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) decreased 0.19% or 2.83 points to 1,484.03, from Wednesday’s close of 1,486.86.

The FBM KLCI, which opened 0.29 of-a-point better at 1,487.15, moved between 1,483.41 and 1,492.44 during the morning session. 

On the broader market, decliners beat gainers 421 to 339, while 430 counters were unchanged, 1,028 untraded and 29 suspended.

Turnover amounted to 2.27 billion units, worth RM1.36 billion.

In a note on Thursday, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it expects that buying interest in the technology sector could be sustained with the recovery on Wall Street.

“We believe [that] overall, the Johor-theme, potential revival in the mega infra projects could provide support toward the construction and property sectors after taking a mild breather.

’We also favour building materials as a proxy toward the previous mentioned sectors, while the consumer segment is likely to head for a decent recovery,” it added.

Among other heavyweights, Hong Leong Bank Bhd slid 12 sen to RM18.78, Maxis Bhd was three sen down at RM3.83, while Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) increased two sen to RM9.02 and Sime Darby Plantation Bhd rose three sen to RM4.38. 

Of the actives, Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd and Leform Bhd inched up half-a-sen each to 2.5 sen and 49 sen, Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd perked by four sen to RM1.12, Minetech Resources Bhd lost half-a-sen to 22 sen, while SMTrack Bhd was flat at 5.5 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM ACE Index went up 6.71 points to 5,439.56 and the FBM 70 Index recovered 13.20 points to 15,091.84, while the FBM Emas Index weakened 13.65 points to 11,084.18, the FBMT 100 Index shed 12.81 points to 10,730.94, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index shrank 4.40 points to 11,230.56.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index advanced 8.78 points to 858.96 and the Plantation Index expanded 44.52 points to 7,112.03. However, the Industrial Products and Services Index erased by 1.29 points to 175.17, the Financial Services Index narrowed 7.26 points to 16,540.53, and the Property Index gave up 10.0 points to 886.42.