Bursa Malaysia slightly lower at midday

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session slightly lower, although renewed buying in selected heavyweights -- led by the financial services as well as the telecommunications and services counters -- limited losses, dealers said.

At 12.30 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.24 of-a-point to 1,493.48, compared with 1,493.90 at Monday’s close.

The index, which opened 1.10 points weaker at 1,492.80, moved between 1,491.39 and 1,496.24 throughout the session.

On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 398 to 286, while 371 counters were unchanged, 1,245 untraded and 15 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.23 billion units worth RM814.46 million.

In a research note, Rakuten Trade anticipated the local benchmark index to trend within the

1,490-1,500 range today.

"While valuations remain cheap, we do not expect the FBM KLCI to see any major movements amidst the heightened market volatility and weakened sentiment,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM8.11, Public Bank added 3.0 sen to RM4.10 and Petronas Chemicals advanced 2.0 sen to RM8.80, while IHH Healthcare and CIMB gained 1.0 sen each to RM6.54 and RM5.30, respectively.

Of the actives, Swift Haulage slipped 2.0 sen to RM1.01, Scope Industries fell 2.5 sen to 26 sen and Lambo Group was flat at 4.5 sen, while Malaysian Genomics rose 5.0 sen to 98 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 2.73 points lower at 10,837.30, the FBMT 100 Index shed 1.40 points to 10,545.95, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 22.18 points to 11,616.95.

The FBM 70 advanced 5.0 points to 13,827.46, while the FBM ACE slipped 33.08 points to 6,173.82.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index perked 12.45 points to 6,364.75 and the Financial Services Index secured 40.60 points to 15,284.64, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.28 of-a-point to 194.25. - Bernama