KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — Bursa Malaysia’s key index turned red at mid-morning, weighed down by healthcare and utilities sectors.
At 11 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.97 of a point to 1,735.51 from last Friday’s close of 1,736.48.
The benchmark index opened 1.83 points higher at 1,738.31.
The broader market remained negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 556 to 358, while 515 counters were unchanged, 1,445 untraded, and 46 suspended.
Turnover was at 1.50 billion units worth RM928.24 million.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB Group were flat at RM10.60 and RM7.95, respectively, and Public Bank was one sen higher at RM5.10, while Tenaga Nasional slid 10 sen to RM14.30 and IHH Healthcare fell 11 sen to RM8.17.
On the most active list, NationGate added 13 sen to RM1.54, while NexG decreased 4.5 sen to 27.5 sen, AirAsia fell three sen to 78 sen, Dagang NeXchange inched down 1.5 sen to 49.5 sen and KPJ Healthcare shed 30 sen to RM2.82.
Of the top gainers, Sunway Construction added 21 sen to RM8.11, Sarawak Plantation gained 20 sen to RM4.74, Sime Darby increased 18 sen to RM2.49, Press Metal Aluminium improved 14 sen to RM8.03 and NationGate put on 13 sen to RM1.54.
As for the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries fell RM1.54 to RM41.66, Allianz Malaysia slid 56 sen to RM21.72, Petronas Dagangan slipped 30 sen to RM19.32, Hong Leong Industries gave up 22 sen to RM17.40 and Pentamaster lost 16 sen to RM5.19.
On the index board, the FBM ACE Index reduced 16.65 points to 5,317.14, the FBM 70 Index fell 57.88 points to 18,093.15 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 12.88 points to 12,628.91.
The FBM Emas Index edged down 13.44 points to 12,818.84, and the FBM Top 100 Index lost 15.45 points to 12,635.47.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index edged up 0.91 of a point to 20,266.31 and the Industrial Products and Services Index went up 1.10 points to 188.32.
However, the Plantation Index erased 4.43 points to 9,436.22 and the Energy Index eased 1.12 points to 775.91.
