KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 — Bursa Malaysia was lower at midday today, led by losses in selected blue chips with plantation and trade/service counters among the decliners.

A dealer said traders were reassessing their risk appetite on concerns over political and economic uncertainties.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 2.93 points or 0.17 per cent to 1,688.31, after opening 4.62 points weaker at 1,686.62 from its close of 1,691.24 yesterday.

The key index moved between 1,684.84 and 1,690.91 throughout the session.

Losers beat gainers 411 to 325 with 332 counters unchanged, 628 untraded and 16 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.26 billion shares worth RM910.08 million.

A dealer said sentiment remained cautious as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines due to the potential impact of US President Donald Trump’s current policies.

This is alongside the uncertainty over the forthcoming national elections in Europe as well as volatile crude oil prices, which influenced buying activity in the market.

United Plantations fell 78 sen to RM27.12 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 16 sen to RM25.00, NPC Resources eased 13 sen to RM2.12 and IJM Plantation declined six sen to RM3.44.

Sime Darby lost five sen to RM8.95, IHH fell three sen to RM6.26, Westports declined seven sen to RM4.19 and Genting slid four sen to RM8.33.

Public Bank, RHB Bank and AMBank each gained two sen to RM20.20, RM5.02 and RM4.56 respectively.

Among actives, Borneo Oil and Sanichi each rose half-a-sen to 17.5 sen and seven sen respectively, Tek Seng improved five sen to 75 sen, while AirAsia X eased half-a-sen to 41.5 sen.

The FBM Emas Index fell 15.93 points to 11,886.38, the FBMT100 Index declined 16.06 points to 11,573.81 and the FBM 70 lost 3.82 points to 13,740.68.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 21.31 points to 12,428.97 and the FBM Ace eased 16.63 points to 5,162.98.

Sector-wise, the Finance Index fell 1.59 points to 14,880.76, the Industrial Index went down 4.63 points to 3,206.51 and the Plantation Index shed 18.68 points to 8,178.07. — Bernama