KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia continued its downward trend at midday on Tuesday despite positive sentiment among regional peers.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) lost 16.16 points to 1,600.42 from last Friday’s close of 1,616.58.
The benchmark index began trading 9.97 points higher at 1,626.55 and moved between 1,595.26 and 1,626.55 throughout the trading session.
Market breadth was negative, with losers outpacing gainers 679 to 351, while 403 counters were unchanged, 1,340 untraded and 12 suspended. Turnover stood at 1.73 billion units worth RM1.29 billion.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said tighter domestic investment conditions
could encourage hyperscalers to accelerate overseas expansion, potentially benefitting Malaysia's data centre ecosystem despite concerns over a potential slowdown in US artificial intelligence infrastructure spending following the midterm elections.
The brokerage firm believes this could support sentiment towards Sunway Construction Group Bhd
, MN Holdings Bhd and Ranhill Utilities Bhd.
Separately, it said heightened cybersecurity concerns following suspected digital intrusions and attacks targeting financial and government infrastructure could drive greater demand for cybersecurity solutions.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank lost six sen to RM10.06, Public Bank slid 18 sen to RM4.72, CIMB and IHH Healthcare weakened four sen each to RM7.02 and RM7.66, while Tenaga Nasional was unchanged at RM13.04.
In active trade, Zetrix AI was down half-a-sen to six sen, GIIB Holdings gave up 11 sen to 16 sen, YTL Power International shed 35 sen to RM4.66, while Aizo Group gained one sen to 7.5 sen and VS Industry edged up half a sen to 30 sen.
As for the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries gained RM1.30 to RM37.50, Nestle surged RM1.52 to RM94.88, Pentamaster Corp climbed 15 sen to RM5.03, and Sunway Construction Group added 28 sen to RRM7.40, and Westports Holdings added 25 sen to RM7.40.
Among the top losers, YTL Power lost 35 sen to RM4.66, Vitrox Corp shrank 23 sen to RM9.89, Hengyuan Refining decreased 28 sen to RM2.64, Kobay Technology was down 21 sen to RM2.03, and Hong Leong Bank retreated 18 sen to RM21.82.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index tumbled 99.89 points to 11,865.58, the FBM Top 100 Index fell 102.90 points to 11,695.55, the FBM Mid 70 Index reduced 85.11 points to 16,935.77, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index contracted 99.89 points to 11,865.58 and the FBM ACE Index reduced 24.63 points to 5,215.61.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.71 of a point to 170.64, the Energy Index fell 19.13 points to 775.73, the Financial Services Index slipped 224.18 points to 18,732.88, and the Plantation Index slumped 69.13 points to 8,657.23. - Bernama
