Bursa Malaysia Ends Morning Session Lower
KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower at the midday break as investors locked in profits after recent gains across the market, with selling seen in selected utilities, financial services, and technology counters.
The weaker performance was broadly in line with regional peers, as sentiment remained cautious after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) opted to keep interest rates unchanged, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that US inflation was still showing little sign of easing.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 4.23 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 1,716.19 from Wednesday’s close of 1,720.42.
The benchmark index opened marginally lower at 1,720.23 and moved between a low of 1,712.14 and a high of 1,722.03 during the morning session.
Market breadth was negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 747 to 292. A total of 487 counters were unchanged, 1,146 untraded, and 77 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.64 billion units valued at RM1.26 billion.
Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index increased 0.75 per cent to 4,897.56, Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 1.36 per cent to 59,099.62, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 1.23 per cent to 25,789.59, and South Korea’s KOSPI dipped 1.03 per cent to 6,622.14.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, in a note today, said Wall Street is expected to continue its profit-taking following the Fed’s decision to hold rates and Powell’s warning on inflation.
“This sentiment was exacerbated by US President Donald Trump’s rejection of Iran’s latest proposal, causing oil prices to surge towards US$120 per barrel.
“Meanwhile, Alphabet and Microsoft’s blowout cloud growth, alongside Meta’s aggressive capital expenditure plans, suggest that artificial intelligence (AI) growth momentum is not slowing down, partially offsetting the ‘OpenAI growth scare’ narrative, it added.
The securities firm said the market may view this round of sell-offs in chipmakers and AI-related counters as a healthy pullback, presenting an opportunity for accumulation.
On the home front, Malacca Securities said the FBM KLCI is expected to end the week on a softer note, tracking the sell-off in the US.
“In the current elevated oil price environment, sentiment is expected to bode well for energy and chemicals-related counters, including Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing, Hengyuan Refining Company and Petronas Chemicals Group,” it said.
Petron Malaysia Refining rose four sen to RM4.43, while Hengyuan Refining gained five sen to RM1.38. Meanwhile, Petronas Chemicals was among the top gainers, jumping 13 sen to RM5.79.
Among heavyweights, Maybank gained four sen to RM11.08, and IHH Healthcare was five sen higher at RM8.86. Public Bank fell five sen to RM4.70, Tenaga Nasional dropped 12 sen to RM14.48, and CIMB lost three sen to RM7.66.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI shaved off 5.5 sen to 80 sen, Econpile slid two sen to 14.5 sen, and UEM Sunrise trimmed 3.5 sen to 65 sen. Borneo Oil and Hubline were flat at half-a-sen and four sen respectively.
Among the top gainers, Nestle advanced RM5.90 to RM108.80, LPI jumped 26 sen to RM14.66, Hong Leong Industries put on 20 sen to RM17.70, Riverview Rubber climbed 15 sen to RM3.00, Petronas Dagangan rose 12 sen to RM20.42, and MBM Resources perked up nine sen to RM5.09.
Among the top losers, MPI lost 66 sen to RM3734, United Plantations slipped 36 sen to RM31.64, KESM shrank 20 sen to RM3.95, Kelington lost 13 sen to RM6.02, and Allianz shed 12 sen to RM20.68.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 52.92 points to 12,690.28, the FBM Top 100 Index declined 47.70 points to 12,523.92, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 46.39 points to 12,661.45, the FBM Mid 70 Index sank 141.24 points to 18,056.86, and the FBM ACE Index slipped 63.75 points to 4,599.74.
By sector, the Energy Index gave up 1.37 points to 843.69, the Financial Services Index declined 83.69 points to 19,901.12, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.24 of-a-point to 194.89, while the Plantation Index garnered 29.83 points to 8,847.62.
-- BERNAMA