KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower on strong selling pressure, in line with bearish regional markets amid uncertainties due to Covid-19 that have triggered worldwide travel bans and a recession scare, coupled with lower oil prices.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) lost 37.10 points or 2.75 per cent to 1,307.65, from Friday's close of 1,344.75.

After opening 25.38 points lower at 1,319.37 this morning, the benchmark index moved between 1,299.42 and 1,319.37 throughout the morning session.

Market breadth was negative as losers thumped gainers 934 to 77, with 142 counters unchanged, 868 untraded and 31 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 2.01 billion shares worth RM1.44 billion.

On the regional front, Singapore's Straits Times Index dipped 3.19 per cent to 2,550.01, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index reduced 2.19 per cent to 23,507.13 and the Jakarta Composite Index declined 3.36 per cent to 4,742.92.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said with the US Federal Reserve's aggressive rate cut over the weekend to near zero, any rebound would be met with selling activities.

"Judging by the United States’ latest quantitative easing, we reckon this indicates the scenario is even worse than initially anticipated.

"We expect the downside pressure on the FBM KLCI to be high with 1,300 as the immediate psychological support level. With the outlook on interest rates clearer now, next is to look out for currencies which should be see heightened volatility,” it said in a note.

Among the heavyweights on Bursa Malaysia, Maybank gave up 35 sen to RM7.53, Tenaga declined 24 sen to RM11.58, Public Bank depreciated 46 sen to RM14.84 and IHH eased 13 sen to RM5.25.

Of the actives, Borneo Oil was flat at 1.5 sen, Bumi Armada eased 1.5 sen to 14.5 sen and Velesto Energy declined 2.5 sen to 13.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index contracted 317.03 points to 9,009.38, the FBM Emas Shariah Index narrowed 263.80 points to 9,721.19 and the FBM 70 gave up 534.03 points to 10,476.20.

The FBMT 100 Index erased 297.09 points to 8,921.87 and the FBM Ace depreciated 308.35 points to 3,983.64.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 5.99 points to 104.68, the Financial Services Index reduced 574.56 points to 12,247.78 and the Plantation Index was 51.20 points lower at 5,796.31. ― Bernama