FBM KLCI erases earlier gains for flat result at midday
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up a marginal 0.07 points to 1,528.33 after having lost a 10-point lead earlier in the day.
The declining issues on the market slightly edged out advancing 414 to 398. Volume was 2.16 billion shares changing hands for RM1.05bil.
On the FBM KLCI, there was a slump in bank stocks, which erased the morning gains - Hong Leong Bank dropped 26 se to RM19.52, Maybank shaved seven sen to RM9.74 and Public Bank dipped one sen to MR5.02.
Gamuda, meanwhile, jumped 11 sen to RM4.76 on optimism over its prospects while Tenaga Nasional gained 14 sen to RM14.40.
Outperformers of the day included SAM Engineering rising 19 sen to RM4.15, British American Tobacco gaining 13 sen to MR4.56 and Pentamaster climbing 12 sen to RM3.15.
Stock markets in Asia were mostly optimistic as Canada had announced it had withdrawn its digital services tax to pave the way for smoother trade negotiations with the US.
Japan's Nikkei rose 1.47% to 40,471, China's composite index gained 0.2% to 3,431 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.42% to 24,182.
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