KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 ― Bursa Malaysia remained easier at mid-morning as traders took on a profit-taking stance on yesterday’s gains, particularly in the Emas Shariah Index. 

At 11am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 6.41 points easier at 1,752.83 from Thursday’s close of 1,759.24 and after opening 0.73 point lower at 1,758.51.

Public Investment Bank Bhd said in a note that US President Donald Trump broke with 20 years of convention on not commenting about monetary policy, saying that he wasn’t thrilled about the US Federal Reserve’s current hikes.

"The White House subsequently issued a statement saying the President respects the central bank’s independence,” it added.

On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 413 to 259, while 326 counters were unchanged, 937 untraded and 38 others suspended.

Volume stood at 1.2 billion units valued at RM782.11 million.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank declined two sen to RM9.79, Tenaga was eight sen lower at RM14.84, Petronas Chemicals decreased four sen to RM8.76 and CIMB declined six sen to RM5.80, while Public Bank was four sen higher at RM23.94.

Among actives, Iskandar Waterfront City edged up nine sen to 83.5 sen, Nova Wellness increased 23 sen to 78 sen, MyEG improved eight sen to RM1.20, and Ekovest gained two sen to 74 sen.

The FBM Emas Index declined 39.4 points to 12,402.84, the FBMT100 Index decreased 39.38 points to 12,196.88 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 41.64 points weaker at 12,494.52.

Meanwhile, the FBM Ace Index trimmed 3.98 points to 5,384.73 and the FBM70 declined 29.81 points to 15,220.33.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Index was 0.6 of-a-point stronger at 3,220.57, the Plantation Index increased 2.12 points to 7,495.31, while the Finance Index declined 35.84 points to 17,314.93. ― Bernama