KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session mixed on Wednesday (May 18) as buying interest in heavyweight counters was interspersed with selling among the lower liners.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.16 points to 1,554.76 from Tuesday’s close of 1,548.6. 

The benchmark index — which opened 5.55 points better at 1,554.15 — moved between 1,547.47 and 1,556.13 throughout the session.

Market breadth was negative with losers outpacing gainers 435 to 374, while 410 counters were unchanged, 1,036 untraded, and 11 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 2.36 billion units worth RM1.01 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of Equity Research Thong Pak Leng said overall sentiments remained rather cautious, with investors on the edge due to the increasing market volatility and external uncertainties. 

“For today, we reckon the index would trend in the 1,545-1,555 range.

“Meanwhile, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed higher at US$114 per barrel versus Brent crude’s closing of US$112 per barrel, as the debate on whether to ban Russian oil imports in Germany continues," he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd fell one sen to RM8.94, Public Bank Bhd gained four sen to RM4.57, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd improved six sen to RM10.08, IHH Healthcare Bhd firmed 17 sen to RM6.60 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd was one sen higher at RM5.07.

Of the actives, Techna-X Bhd fell 2.5 sen to 5.5 sen, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd eased one sen to 15.5 sen, Yong Tai Bhd deducted 1.5 sen to 8.5 sen, while Sapura Energy Bhd and Eduspec Holdings Bhd were flat at 7.5 sen and two sen, respectively.

Among the top gainers, Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd advanced RM2 to RM134.80, PPB Group Bhd widened 36 sen to RM16.90, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd bagged 29 sen to RM6.49, Hong Leong Bank Bhd strengthened 28 sen to RM21.02 and United Malacca Bhd improved 23 sen to RM5.55.

On the index board, FBM ACE dropped 50.88 points to 5,312.36, FBM Emas Index advanced 42.44 points to 11,102.85, FBMT 100 Index firmed 45.72 points to 10,770.8, FBM Emas Shariah Index added 33.91 points to 11,583.18, and FBM 70 gained 68.48 points to 13,207.33.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index decreased 17.99 points to 8,242.2 and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.56 of-a-point lower at 199.86, while the Financial Services Index bagged 59.62 points to 16,594.11.