KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — Share prices on Bursa Malaysia turned negative at mid-morning in cautious trading, after opening higher and in taking cue from the mixed performance on regional bourses  amid rising geopolitical uncertainties.

At 11am, the  FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 3.92 points easier at 1,769.24, after opening 12.53 points higher at 1,785.69 from yesterday’s close of  1,773.16.

On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 459 to 279 with 290 counters unchanged, 806 untraded and 21 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.003 billion shares worth RM611.67 million.

Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) said with the extended concerns over the North Korean missile  issue,  market volatility is expected to heighten.

It said at the same time, investors are focusing on upcoming events such as the European Central Bank meeting (September 7) and the Federal Open Market Committee meeting (September 20-21).

"On the local front, we think the market could be trending on a downward bias following events over the weekend.

"Nevertheless, buying support may emerge for stocks with better-than-expected corporate results released last week,”  said HLIB.

Among heavyweights, Maybank eased three sen to RM9.43, CIMB Group fell 32 sen each to RM6.76,  Tenaga added 14 sen to RM14.42, Sime Darby gained five sen to RM9.05, while Public Bank was flat at RM20.60.

Of the actives,  Sino Hua and Palette Multimedia added 2.5 sen each to 18 sen and 17.5 sen respectively, China Stationery improved two sen to six sen, while Anzo Holdings edged up half-a-sen to 10.5 sen.

The FBM Emas Index was down 23.22 points to 12,586.85, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 19.72 points to 12,261.94 and the FBM Ace slid 8.81  points to 6,603.93.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 27.13 points to 12,776.22 as the FBM 70 improved 3.73 points to 15,063.57.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index was 8.63 points better at 7,857.09, the Industrial Index gained 5.75 points to 3,206.89, while the Finance Index dropped 172.72 points to 16,599.59. — Bernama