KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 — Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower in tracking its Asian peers, while taking cue from the lacklustre overnight performance of Wall Street, dealers said.

At 12.30pm, the key FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 7.06 points to 1,775.92, after moving between 1,775.61 and 1,782.81 throughout the morning session.

It opened 1.91 points lower at 1,782.81 from yesterday’s close of 1,782.98.

Market breadth was negative as losers led gainers  379 to 339 with 375 counters unchanged, 741 untraded and 23 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.74 billion shares worth RM925.74 million.

A dealer said Asian shares mostly slipped on Friday, dragged by worries on the impact of hurricanes on the US economy, as well as  lingering fears about North Korea’s ballistic missile launches and nuclear weapons.

Investors, he added, were also looking for direction after the European Central Bank Chief, Mario Draghi hinted it might taper a massive stimulus plan in October, while being cautious as they await the release of China’s trade data for August later today.

Bursa Malaysia remained in the red since opening on profit taking in heavyweights, after yesterday’s high gains, with selling seen in stocks led by CIMB Group, IHH Healthcare and Genting Malaysia.

Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.50 per cent to 19,299.90, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.61 per cent to 27,689.84, South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.10 per cent to 2,343.75, and the Singapore Straits Times index eased 0.04 per cent to 3,225.92.

For the heavyweights,  Maybank gained five sen to RM9.54, Sime Darby improved three sen to RM9.06, CIMB Group fell 15 sen to RM6.76, while Tenaga and Public Bank were flat at RM14.56 and RM20.58 respectively.

Among active counters, Sino Hua-An improved 3.5 sen to 21.5 sen, PUC edged up half-a-sen to 14.5 sen,  Palette Multimedia gained two sen to 24 sen and JAG was flat at 14 sen.

The FBM Emas Index was 39.64 points lower at 12,661.01, the FBM 70 slipped 26.05 points to 15,226.98, the  FBMT 100 Index fell 42.10 points to 12,329.55 and the FBM Ace slid 25.04 points to 6,663.12. The FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 11.36 points to 12,861.81.

Sector-wise, the Finance Index slid 68.56 points to 16,672.96 and the Plantation Index fell 2.32 points to  7,878.78, and the Industrial Index slipped 11.36 points to 3,193.78. — Bernama