Bursa Malaysia Lower At Midday, Tracking Regional Peers
KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower, in line with regional market losses, as sentiment remained volatile amid ongoing developments in the Strait of Hormuz.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 13.35 points or 0.79 per cent to 1,677.96 from last Friday’s close of 1,691.31.
The benchmark index opened 8.88 points lower at 1,682.43 and moved between 1,675.64 and 1,685.52 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was negative with losers thumping gainers 751 to 299, while 390 counters were unchanged, 1,277 untraded, and 12 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.73 billion units worth RM1.21 billion.
Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.42 per cent to 4,968.45 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 1.18 per cent to 25,587.26 , Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 1.08 per cent to 56,306.73, and South Korea’s KOSPI tumbled 1.10 per cent to 5794.46.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said the local market is set to turn choppy and headline-driven, with escalation risks threatening to unwind last week’s rally, following the collapse of US–Iran peace talks, raising the prospect of a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
“As such, the FBM KLCI is expected to remain volatile, with sentiment firmly hostage to developments in the Strait of Hormuz. Major support is seen at 1,664-1,673 while resistance is pegged at 1,705–1,721,” it said in a note today.
Among heavyweights, Maybank dropped 16 sen to RM11.00, Public Bank slipped five sen to RM4.60, CIMB lost 13 sen to RM7.39, IHH Healthcare fell eight sen to RM8.73, while Tenaga Nasional gained two sen to RM14.10.
On the most active list, MMAG rose half-a-sen to four sen, Zetrix AI eased half-a-sen to 75 sen, Bumi Armada added 1.5 sen to 39.5 sen, while V.S. Industry slipped one sen to 18 sen and Top Glove erased two sen to 78.5 sen.
Among top gainers, Nestle rose 52 sen toRM98.62, Petronas Dagangan garnered 40 sen to RM21.20, Hong Leong Industries gained 24 sen to RM17, PMB Technology soared 21 sen to RM1.78, and Petronas Chemicals climbed 19 sen to RM6.01.
Top losers included Fraser and Neave and Hong Leong Bank, which fell 42 sen each to RM29.38 and RM21.66, respectively. Dutch Lady Milk and Sunway Construction declined 20 sen each to RM31.90 and RM6.65, respectively, and Malayan Cement shed 19 sen to RM6.57.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index went down by 99.81 points to 12,159.85, the FBM Emas Index declined 100.35 points to 12,312.31, the FBM Mid 70 Index slumped 154.12 points to 17,166.85, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 57.79 points to 12,231.54, and the FBM ACE Index was 50.31 points lower at 4,379.67.
By sector, the Financial Services Index tumbled 269.43 points to 19,515.23, while the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.11 of-a-point to 186.02, the Energy Index perked up 11.96 points to 825.21, and the Plantation Index increased 27.86 points to 8,995.11.
-- BERNAMA