Bursa Malaysia Stays Lower At Midday, In Sync With Weaker Regional
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia stayed in the negative territory at midday, in tandem with the weaker regional market performance, weighed down by selling pressure in selected heavyweights.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 7.42 points to 1,579.18 from yesterday's close of 1,586.60.
The benchmark index had opened 0.31 of a point firmer at 1,586.91 and moved between 1,577.81 and 1,595.31 throughout the morning trading session.
Market breadth was negative with 577 losers outpacing 307 gainers, while 491 counters were unchanged, 1,189 untraded and 17 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.40 billion units worth RM1.17 billion.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said Wall Street was higher overnight as softer-than-expected United States (US) consumer price index reinforced bets on a rate cut during the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Sept 17.
'Risk sentiment was further buoyed by US President Donald Trump's 90-day tariff truce with China and optimism ahead of the Trump-Putin ceasefire summit in Alaska, aimed at ending the three-year Russia-Ukraine war.
'Focus now turns to tonight's US Producer Price Index print for clues on the US Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge,' it said in a research note today.
Back home, it noted that the FBM KLCI surged to almost the 1,590 mark at the close yesterday, signalling sustained bullish momentum, with resistances revised higher to 1,600, 1,615, and 1,640 levels.
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