Bursa Malaysia Ends Morning Session Marginally Lower

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session slightly lower today, weighed down by a lack of fresh catalysts and mirroring the trend of key regional indices.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 1.42 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 1,571.60 from Thursday’s close of 1,573.02.

The benchmark index opened 2.58 points higher at 1,575.60 and thereafter fluctuated between 1,570.20 and 1,580.06 throughout the session.

The broader market was negative with 589 decliners outpacing 286 gainers, while 423 counters were unchanged, 1,098 untraded and eight suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.85 billion shares worth RM1.03 billion.

ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves said Asian equities underperformed today, as mixed economic data from the United States influenced market movements ahead of monthly options expiry.

"Traders are also closely monitoring developments on the tariff front, which could impact Asian markets," he said.

On the home front, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) announced that the Malaysian economy expanded by 4.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 (1Q 2025), driven by sustained household spending supported by favourable labour market conditions and government policies. The country’s GDP stood at 4.2 per cent in 1Q 2024.

Among heavyweights, Maybank rose two sen to RM10.12, Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM14.20, IHH Healthcare fell two sen to RM7.01, while both Public Bank and CIMB eased one sen to RM4.50 and RM7.15 respectively.

For active stocks, West River added one sen to 36.5 sen, Sumisaujana, NexG and Pertama Digital all gained half a sen to 19.5 sen, 36.5 sen and 13 sen, respectively, while Ekovest lost 1.5 sen to 37.5 sen and Nationgate slipped four sen to RM1.68.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 37.47 points to 11,736.54, the FBMT 100 Index declined 32.29 points to 11,487.19, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 42.96 points to 11,675.66.

The FBM 70 Index slid 134.45 points to 16,676.73 and the FBM ACE Index fell by 27.47 points to 4,747.67.

Across sectors, the Financial Services Index declined 16.68 points to 18,453.81, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down by 0.12 of-a-point to 159.67, the Energy Index shed 9.78 points to 727.56, and the Plantation Index slipped 12.29 points to 7,375.81.

-- BERNAMA