KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips were barely higher at the midday break on Wednesday, May 12 after staying in the red for most of the morning, as investors remained cautious in line with key regional markets.
Berjaya Sports Toto was in focus and its securities were actively traded.
Some mild buying interest in index-linked stocks like CIMB, Maybank and Genting Bhd helped nudge the 30-stock index into the positive zone towards the end of the morning session. Trading volume had also shrunk considerably.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was just up 0.19 of a point to 1,340.91. Turnover was only 285.72 million units valued at RM352.06 million. There were 215 gainers, 271 losers and 226 stocks unchanged.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.37% to 10,372.16, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.53% to 20,004.42, Shanghai's Composite Index 0.94% lower at 2,622.67, Shenzen's Composite Index 2.1% lower at 1,004.07 and Singapore's Straits Times Index 0.24% down at 2,850.68.
Light crude oil fell 68 cents to US$75.69 while crude palm oil futures was at RM2,500.
On the equities market sentiment, dealers said investors were hesitant to take fresh positions despite the strong economic data, especially that the industrial output in March had rebounded to its highest in recent years.
"Investors are ignoring the strong economic data at the moment," said a dealer.
Among the index-linked stocks, Tanjong was 10 sen higher at RM17.54, Berjaya Sports Toto seven sen to RM4.59 while CIMB added six sen to RM14.42, Maybank two sen to RM7.57 and Genting Bhd three sen to RM6.97.
Other gainers were KKB Engineering, surging 38 sen to RM6.43 after announcing a strong set of earnings, Measat added 11 sen to RM2.78 and CHHB 10 sen to 67.5 sen.
Maxbiz was the most active with 34 million shares done, up seven sen to 21.5 sen.
BToto added seven sen to RM4.59 and the call warrants BToto-CF added three sen to 20.5 sen and BToto-CG 1.5 sen to 16 sen.
Nestle was the top loser among index-linked stocks, down 18 sen to RM34.10, IOI lost five sen to RM5.37 and Sime two sen to RM8.61.