KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia eased at midday today, tracking weaker regional performance as investors remained cautious over potential de-escalation in West Asia.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.46 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 1,696.56 from Tuesday’s close of 1,699.02.
The benchmark index opened 7.81 points higher at 1,706.83 and moved between 1,690.39 and 1,707.91 during the morning trading session.
Market breadth was negative with losers outpacing gainers 602 to 357, while 507 counters were unchanged, 1,214 untraded and 88 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.98 billion units valued at RM1.80 billion.
Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell by 2.32 per cent to 24,740.39, Singapore’s Straits Times Index inched down 0.75 per cent to 4,990.8, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 1.62 per cent lower to 63,944.04, and Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index slipped by 4.41 per cent to 7,866.11.
In a note today, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said that as investors assess conflicting signals on prospects for a United States-Iran deal to end the three-month conflict and restore energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the FBM KLCI looks set for choppier trading ahead.
"Beyond geopolitical risks, caution persists amid the ongoing quarterly reports earnings peak, rising domestic political noise, including election grapevine following UMNO’s 80th anniversary event on May 11, as well as continued foreign outflows,” it said.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank slipped two sen to RM10.92, Public Bank fell three sen to RM4.77, IHH Healthcare lost two sen to RM8.96, while CIMB gained one sen to RM7.69, and Tenaga Nasional edged up 10 sen to RM14.26.
As for the active stocks, Zetrix AI eased half a sen to 81 sen, YTL Corp decreased four sen to RM2.03, Astro
remained unchanged at six sen, while OGX advanced 6.5 sen to 41.5 sen, and Inari Amertron garnered 11 sen to RM2.33.
Top gainers KESM Industries increased 56 sen to RM5.05, United Plantation strengthened 30 sen to RM30.50, Ajinomoto added 30 sen to RM13.24, and Allianz Malaysia rose 22 sen to RM21.64.
Of the top losers, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Petronas Dagangan and Batu Kawan each lost 38 sen to RM19.96, RM17.26 and RM20.02, respectively, while Hong Leong Bank dipped 32 sen to RM21.58, and PPB slid 21 sen to RM9.81.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index shed 15.43 points to 12,600.45, the FBM Top 100 Index eased 13.03 points to 12,444.56, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 5.17 points to 12,524.67, while the FBM Mid 70 Index gained 2.44 points to 18,216.81, and the FBM ACE Index edged up 1.93 points to 4,713.42.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.34 points to 198.37, while the Financial Services Index tumbled 61.16 points to 19,907.79, the Energy Index slipped 6.03 points to 780.78, and the Plantation Index dropped 29.04 points to 8,506.24. - Bernama
