Bursa Malaysia Ends Morning Session Lower Amid Regional Downturn
KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained in consolidation mode at the end of the morning session, continuing from last week, amid a downtrend in regional bourses.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 16.19 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 1,555.56 from Friday’s close of 1,571.75.
The benchmark index opened 5.18 points lower at 1,566.57 and fluctuated between 1,553.86 and 1,566.57 throughout the session.
The broader market was negative, with 835 decliners trouncing 152 gainers, while 357 counters were unchanged, 1,051 untraded and 17 suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.47 billion shares worth RM1.12 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd expects a further pullback on the local bourse amid softer market conditions in the United States. "Nevertheless, we believe any progress toward de-escalating the trade war could serve as a key catalyst for further upside on Wall Street,” it said in a research note today.
Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.49 per cent to 23,230.95, Singapore’s Straits Times Index eased 0.16 per cent to 3,891.46, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.69 per cent to 37,499.21.
Among Bursa Malaysia’s heavyweight counters, IHH Healthcare was flat at RM7.01, Maybank and Public Bank eased 2.0 sen each to RM10.12 and RM4.48, respectively, while TNB trimmed 14 sen to RM14.06. CIMB shed 8.0 sen to RM7.10 and CelcomDigi dipped 5.0 sen to RM3.92.
For active stocks, Harvest Miracle and NexG were flat at 18 sen and 37.5 sen, respectively, while SFP Tech shed 2.5 sen to 23 sen, RGB International declined 2.0 sen to 34.5 sen, and MYEG went down 1.5 sen to 90.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 147.84 points to 11,598.20, the FBMT 100 Index lost 138.79 points to 11,353.91, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 163.14 points to 11,511.04.
The FBM 70 Index depreciated 282.88 points to 16,419.53, and the FBM ACE Index fell by 99.23 points to 4,666.63.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gave up 138.25 points to 18,349.40, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 3.40 points easier at 156.28, and the Energy Index slid 19.30 points to 710.08.
The Plantation Index slipped 43.95 points to 7,341.64.
-- BERNAMA