KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower due to persistent selling in selected consumer products and healthcare counters, amid mixed sentiment in the regional markets, dealers said.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 13.51 points to 1,609.96 from yesterday’s close of 1,623.47.

The market bellwether opened 0.26 of-a-point lower at 1,623.21 and moved between 1,608.24 and 1,623.25 throughout the session.

The overall market breadth remained negative as losers surpassed gainers at 650 versus 314, while 463 counters were unchanged, 773 untraded and 29 suspended.

Total volume stood at 4.54 billion shares worth RM3.17 billion.

A dealer said that most regional bourses were mixed today as investors await the Bank of Japan’s decision on the interest rate.

Meanwhile, global stock markets made moderate gains last night as the increasing confidence of a rapid global economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic offsetted concerns about the speed of the markets’ rally.

"The start to the week was quiet as investors refrained from taking on large positions ahead of the United States (US) Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting starting today and the impending release of the US quarterly gross domestic product data.

"Traders also remained on the sidelines ahead of a mammoth earnings week in the US, with tech giants Microsoft, Facebook, Apple and Amazon all set to report their earnings,” he said.

Back home, heavyweights Maybank went down 8.0 sen to RM8.28, Public Bank declined 2.0 sen to RM4.17, Top Glove slipped 9.0 sen to RM5.81, while Petronas Chemicals was flat at RM7.91 and TNB rose 2.0 sen to RM10.02.

Of the active counters, Focus Dynamics eased half-a-sen to 14 sen, Mah Sing decreased 2.0 sen to RM1.06, Kanger International earned half-a-sen to 7.5 sen and Careplus was flat at RM2.76.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dipped 73.13 points to 11,864.78, the FBMT 100 went down 76.64 points to 11,515.94, the FBM 70 was 27.41 points lower at 15,690.21, the FBM Emas Shariah lost 82.07 points to 13,362.24, while the FBM ACE jumped 32.29 points to 8,933.21.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index contracted 35.19 points to 6,849.55, the Financial Services Index was weaker by 96.14 points at 14,955.47 and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.54 of-a-point to 197.12. ― Bernama