KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — Bursa Malaysia extended its losses at mid-day today on sustained selling activities in line with regional markets amid prospects of new lockdowns due to spiking Covid-19 cases globally.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 20.19 points or 1.32 per cent to 1,506.13 from Wednesday’s close of 1,526.32.

The index opened 1.81 points easier at 1,524.51 and hovered between 1,504.9 and 1,525.69 throughout the early trading session.

On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 635 to 252, while 360 counters were unchanged, 697 untraded and 38 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 3.0 billion units worth RM1.86 billion.

A dealer said the local bourse experienced some profit-taking activities due to yesterday’s closing.

Meanwhile, Maybank Investment Bank expects the FBM KLCI to range between 1,490 and 1,550 today, with downside support at 1,490 and 1,460.

Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index eased 0.22 per cent to 24,427.54, Singapore’s Straits Times Index narrowed 0.13 per cent to 2,666.23 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slipped 0.43 per cent to 22,360.23.

Meanwhile, among Bursa Malaysia’s heavyweights, IHH Healthcare gained four sen to RM5.43, TNB was flat at RM11.88, Maybank shed eight sen to RM7.69, Public Bank declined 16 sen to RM16.80, Petronas Chemicals depreciated 18 sen to RM6.32 and Maxis eased 14 sen to RM5.31.

Of the most actives, PDZ rose one sen to four sen, MSM increased 5.5 sen to 63.5 sen, Prestariang increased two sen to 50 sen, MQ Technology and Minetech were flat at four sen and 30.5 sen, respectively, while MTouche and Ucrest both edged down half-a-sen to 7.5 sen and 16.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index discounted 132.87 points to 10,591.5, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 132.8 points to 10,447.91 and the FBM 70 went down 135.34 points to 12,980.01.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 169.39 points to 11,944.35 and the FBM ACE narrowed 93.88 points to 5,886.25.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 2.14 points to 133.99, the Plantation Index discounted 61.21 points to 6,713.83 and the Financial Services Index weakened 133.99 points to 13,084.46. — Bernama