KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia remained in negative territory at midday, tracking weaker regional peers amid heightened geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 17.83 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 1,708.05 from last Friday’s close of 1,725.88.
The benchmark index opened 1.61 points higher at 1,727.49.
The market breadth was negative with losers trumping gainers 909 to 300, while 394 counters were unchanged, 1,178 untraded and 24 suspended.
Turnover totalled 3.69 billion units worth RM2.30 billion.
In a note today, Apex Securities Bhd said regional sentiment turned defensive over the long weekend after fresh US-Iran strikes near the Strait of Hormuz sent oil prices surging.
"Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s hawkish remarks at the Jackson Hole Symposium lifted expectations of a September rate hike.
"Investors will also focus on a heavy data week, headlined by US non-farm payrolls on Friday,” it said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell 12 sen to RM10.56, Public Bank eased one sen to RM4.94, CIMB Group
slipped 11 sen to RM7.85, Tenaga Nasional declined 32 sen to RM13.82, and IHH Healthcare shed nine sen to RM8.16.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI gave up 2.5 sen to 27 sen, Excel Force MSC gained five sen to 14 sen, Tanco eased one sen to 17.5 sen, while Ni Hsin Group added 2.5 sen to 22 sen, and Inari Amertron rose six sen to RM2.62.
For the top gainers, Hengyuan Refining surged 58 sen to RM2.53, Dutch Lady Milk Industries advanced 42 sen to RM31.80, Hong Leong Bank gained 30 sen to RM23.80, Sarawak Oil Palms garnered 20 sen to RM5.55, and Hibiscus Petroleum rose 14 sen to RM2.19.
Among the top losers, Nestle dipped RM1.10 to RM99.00, Malaysian Pacific Industries dropped 78 sen to RM40.78, Kelington Group decreased 36 sen to RM8.84, RHB Bank sank 34 sen to RM8.34, and UWC shrank 26 sen to RM6.64.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slid 118.97 points to 12,645.66, the FBMT 100 Index slumped 119.93 points to 12,454.92, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 117.45 points to 12,434.64, the FBM 70 Index tumbled 129.68 points to 17,917.21, and the FBM ACE Index lost 75.99 points to 5,173.39.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index put on 9.78 points to 788.16 and the Plantation Index improved 21.10 points to 9,330.76, while the Financial Services Index dipped 170.63 points to 20,072.84, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 3.32 points to 185.95. - Bernama
