KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — Bursa Malaysia slipped into the red at mid-day on lack of fresh leads that could drive the market higher.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.53 of-a-point easier at 1,515.33 from last Friday’s close of 1,515.86.

The key index eased 1.23 points at the opening and hovered between 1,513.45 and 1,520.89 throughout the morning session.

Market breadth was negative with losers leading gainers 567 to 420, while 352 counters were unchanged, 697 untraded and 36 others suspended.

Trading volume stood at 3.77 billion shares worth RM1.72 billion.

Supermax warrants dominated the top losers list, constituting six out of the top 10 loser counters, while Supermax, also among them, lost 30 sen to RM9.30 due to selling pressure.

Other top losers included Allianz-PA, contracting 70 sen to RM13.90, MPI, shrinking 50 sen to RM17.80, and Thong Guan, dropping 29 sen to RM5.15.

In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said after last week’s dour performance of the local bourse, volatility is expected to remain on the table, although any potential recovery will be measured for the time being in view of the lack of fresh leads.

"Investors may turn more risk averse as demonstrated by the slower trading activities, waiting for stability to kick in.

"We are also cautious on the falling trading activities that indicate investors turning more risk averse for the time being,” it said in a note today.

However, the brokerage firm anticipated selective buying to take precedence amid the renewed volatility, focusing on plantation stocks with the crude palm oil prices remained elevated with Indonesia’s biodiesel B40 programme remaining on track.

"We also see furniture-related stocks on the move on the rising adoption of work from home,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Tenaga shed 12 sen to RM11.04, Public Bank declined four sen to RM15.96, while Maybank added four sen to RM7.25, Top Glove perked one sen to RM8.39, and Hartalega was eight sen firmer at RM14.08.

Of the actives, JCY inched up 4.5 sen to 81 sen, Ekovest climbed five sen to 53.5 sen, SYF inched up 4.5 sen to 23 sen, while Fintec trimmed one sen to 14.5 sen and Permaju was unchanged at 44 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 12.20 points to 10,960.10, the FBMT 100 Index was 9.97 points easier at 10,760.57 and the FBM 70 fell 37.68 points to 14,360.49.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 30.32 points to 12,979.50 but the FBM ACE rose 51.20 points to 10,857.25.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index strengthened 8.80 points to 12,646.66, the Plantation Index improved 23.49 points to 7,086.74, but the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.13 of-a-point to 136.80. — Bernama