Bursa Malaysia Easier At Midday As Cautious Sentiments Abound

KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower on Wednesday, trading below the 1,520 level as investors remain cautious ahead of the looming United States (US) tariff negotiation deadline.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 7.90 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 1,517.50  from Tuesday’s close of 1,525.40.

The benchmark index opened 1.63 points lower at 1,523.77, and subsequently moved between 1,516.89 and 1,526.29 during the session.

The broader market was negative with decliners outnumbering gainers 558 to 289, while 434 counters were unchanged, 1,164 untraded and eight suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.98 billion units worth RM1.04 billion.

In a research note today, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB) said the FBM KLCI’s near-term sentiment is expected to remain cautious ahead of the Aug 1 deadline for the US-Malaysia tariff negotiation decisions and potential clarity on US export controls on artificial intelligence (AI) chip shipments.

“On the domestic front, the upcoming August results season may weigh on sentiment, as looming policy headwinds, including fuel and electricity subsidy rationalisations, port tariff hikes and Sales and Service Tax expansions would dampen consumer demand and cloud earnings visibility,” it said.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell six sen to RM9.59, Public Bank slipped four sen to RM4.22, CIMB was seven sen lower at RM6.56 and IHH Healthcare erased three sen to RM6.55, while Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM13.90.

As for the most active stocks, NexG gained one sen to 48.5 sen, Zetrix AI added 1.5 sen to 94.5 sen and Tanco reduced half-a-sen to 90 sen, while Green Ocean Corporation and TWL were flat at 12.5 sen and 2.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index reduced 56.50 points to 11,419.58, the FBMT 100 Index edged down 56.57 points to 11,181.04, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index trimmed 28.82 points to 11,454.36.

The FBM 70 Index declined 76.82 points to 16,611.58, while the FBM ACE Index went up 9.42 points to 4,597.04.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index sank 168.82 points to 17,333.83, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.46 of a point to 152.93, the Energy Index ticked down 0.79 of a point to 738.13, and the Plantation Index narrowed 23.24 points to 7,395.18.

-- BERNAMA