KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 29): The FBM KLCI continued its upward momentum at midday on Thursday, due to persistent buying of selected heavyweights, led by Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB). 

TNB perked 24 sen to RM11.20, with 3.06 million shares traded. 

At 12.30pm, the benchmark index had increased 2.86 points to 1,548.45, from Wednesday’s close at 1,545.59.

The benchmark index, which opened 2.03 points better at 1,547.62, moved between 1,544.67 and 1,552.34 during the morning trading session. 

However, the broader market saw losers trumping gainers 678 to 263, while 416 counters were unchanged, 933 untraded, and 43 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 2.37 billion units worth RM1.54 billion.

In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said further profit-taking activities may emerge on the broader market, with higher volatility seen within the MSCI rebalancing stocks, such as YTL Corp Bhd and YTL Power International Bhd.

“Traders may take note of the solid results today (Thursday), including for the poultry sector as CCK Consolidated Holdings Bhd and CAB Cakaran Corp Bhd with stronger growth in profit, while Unique Fire Holdings Bhd’s firefighting segment may continue with its upward momentum.

“Kelington Group Bhd also continued its earnings momentum for the latest quarter," it said.

As for other heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd added 11 sen to RM6.96 per share, CelcomDigi Bhd gained four sen to RM4.37, and Hong Leong Bank Bhd improved 20 sen to RM19.82, while YTL Power International eased 18 sen to RM3.83, and YTL Corp lost 11 sen to RM2.53. 

Of the actives, Harvest Miracle Capital Bhd at 15.5 sen and Velesto Energy Bhd at 29 sen had gone up by one sen each, MyEG Services Bhd put on two sen to 81 sen, Bumi Armada Bhd advanced 3.5 sen to 55.5 sen, while Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd was flat at 1.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index went up 4.27 points to 11,129.61, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index recovered 20.52 points to 11,503.48, while the FBM Emas Index was 1.56 points lower at 11,462.07, the FBM 70 Index fell 61.23 points to 15,377.40, and the FBM ACE Index declined 42.40 points to 4,722.84.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 39.89 points to 17,339.52, the Energy Index was 2.51 points firmer at 927.15, the Plantation Index lifted 49.05 points to 7,204.77, and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.11 of a point to 176.05.