KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower, with the key index remaining below the 1,500-point level, dragged down by weak market sentiment.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI had fallen 4.79 points to 1,489.81 from last Friday’s close at 1,494.6.
The key index, which opened 2.79 points higher at 1,497.39, moved between 1,486.23 and 1,499.74 throughout the morning session.
On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 612 versus 334, while 343 counters were unchanged, 883 untraded and 11 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.81 billion units worth RM1.14 billion.
A dealer said the local bourse stayed in negative territory for most part of the morning session due to uncertainties surrounding the market.
“Despite easing China’s regulatory crackdown concerns, sentiment in the market was affected by the latest developments on the local political landscape.
“The uncertainties somewhat pushed some investors to withdraw their positions,” the dealer told Bernama.
Of the heavyweights, Public Bank Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) slipped one sen each to RM3.97 and RM8.03 respectively, while Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) lost three sen to RM9.61.
IHH Healthcare Bhd bagged six sen to RM5.70 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd added one sen to RM4.46, while Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) was flat at RM8.01.
Among the actives, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd shed 1.5 sen to 38 sen, PUC Bhd inched up half a sen to 18.5 sen and M3 Technologies (Asia) Bhd slipped one sen to 5.5 sen, while Resintech Bhd rose 12 sen to 71.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 14.7 points to 10,958.77, FBMT 100 Index went down 10.05 points to 10,671.2, FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 13.2 points to 12,035.88 and the FBM ACE contracted 27.85 points to 7,052.78.
However, the FBM 70 soared 80.43 points to 14,598.72.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index decreased 10.98 points to 14,670.47 and the Plantation Index declined 66.12 points to 5,972.92, while the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.18 of a point to 187.02.-BERNAMA