Bursa Malaysia Slightly Down At Midday As Traders Weigh US Tariff Impact

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session slightly lower on Monday as traders continued to digest the impact of the United States’ (US) latest hefty tariffs on its trading partners, said an analyst.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched down 0.44 of a point to 1,535.63 from Friday’s close of 1,536.07.

The benchmark index, which opened 0.10 of a point lower at 1,535.97, traded within a tight range of between 1,534.40 and 1,538.08 during the session.

The broader market was negative, with decliners outnumbering gainers 329 to 256, while 702 counters were unchanged, 1,131 untraded and nine suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.91 billion units worth RM803.56 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the tariff situation revived new concerns, as the tariffs are likely to spur inflation and hurt economic growth.

“These uncertainties have pushed the US 10-year Treasury yield higher to 4.42 per cent.

“Nonetheless, we believe the local bourse is well supported within the current trading range. Thus expect the index to hover in the 1,535-1,545 range today,” he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank gained three sen to RM9.72, CIMB rose two sen to RM6.70 and Public Bank shed one sen to RM4.31, while Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare both remained unchanged at RM13.96 and RM6.58, respectively.

As for the most active stocks, NexG and Wentel Engineering added 1.5 sen each to 46.5 sen and 33.5 sen, respectively, and Zetrix AI eased one sen to 99 sen. Meanwhile, Tanco and Hartanah Kenyalang each increased half-a-sen to 91 sen and 15.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index reduced 1.94 points to 11,541.64, the FBMT 100 Index edged down 4.71 points to 11,304.03, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index trimmed 10.28 points to 11,542.19.

The FBM 70 Index declined 13.33 points to 16,748.02, while the FBM ACE Index went down 13.33 points to 4,520.75.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index garnered 32.15 points to 17,640.28, the Industrial Products and Services Index dipped 0.58 of a point to 153.51, the Energy Index ticked up 7.95 points to 745.57, and the Plantation Index fell 2.42 points to 7,448.03.

-- BERNAMA