KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI turned slightly into the red at midday as investors displayed caution ahead of Bank Negara’s monetary policy decision tomorrow.
The key index was down 2.27 points to 1,581.21 at noon as investors chose to stay on the sidelines in the absence of fresh leads after the recent rally.
Market breadth was negative with 510 decliners versus 236 gainers.
Among the blue-chips, financial heavyweights put in a mixed performance with Maybank rising four sne to RM8.31 and CIMB gaining four sen to RM4.95. Public Bank was unchanged at RM4.10 while Hong Leong Bank slid eight sen to RM18.92.
Glove makers continued to lose steam amid the focus on the recovery theme. Top Glove lost 10 sen to RM3.57 while Hartalega
dropped 22 sen to RM6.69.
Also in the red, Petronas Chemicals shed five sen to RM8.10 and Tenaga Nasional lost six sen to RM10.28.
IHH Healthcare meanwhile rose eight sen to RM6.38.
On the broader market, technology counters remained stable with some notable movers being Greatech gaining 12 sen to RM7.10, Frontken rising 12 sen to RM3.64 and UWC jumping 26 sen to RM5.66.
Most actively traded counters were KNM losing 0.5 sen to 26.5 sen, Fintec rising 0.5 sen to 2.5 sen and PUC advancing 1.5 sen to 18 sen.
Elsewhere in the region, markets retreated on concerns over slowing economic growth as fresh restrictions were implemented to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.4% while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.8%. China’s main index grew 0.1%, Hon Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.5% and Australia’s ASX200 dropped 0.3%.
