KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 ― Bursa Malaysia remained marginally lower in the midmorning session in cautious trading with mild profit-taking seen in selected heavyweight stocks.

At 11.05am, the FBM KLCI slid 0.10 of a point to 1,387.23 from 1,387.33 at yesterday’s close.

The key index opened 0.09 of a point easier at 1,387.24 this morning.

On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 394 to 212 while 350 counters were unchanged, 1,327 untraded, and 16 others suspended.

Turnover was 1.26 billion units worth RM549.25 million.

In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said although the government’s decision to cut stamp duty for shares traded on Bursa Malaysia may stimulate trading activities, sentiments remain

tepid without fresh catalysts on the global front and ahead of the six state elections.

Meanwhile, it noted that investors may stay cautious in view of the upcoming China’s interest rate decision.

Commodities wise, the brokerage firm shared that Brent crude oil price remained solidly above US$76 per barrel, while crude palm oil price hovered above RM3,750.

"As for sectors in focus, the energy sector may stage a rebound given the solid crude oil price. Besides, we remain optimistic about the consumer and travelling-related sectors amid the recovery theme since January.

"Meanwhile, the technology sector could continue its uptrend in the near future amidst a brighter outlook on the global front,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank and IHH Healthcare shed two sen each to RM8.63 and RM5.90, Public Bank added one sen to RM3.88, CIMB gained five sen to RM5.13 while Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM9.22.

Of the actives, Sarawak Consolidated improved one sen to 43 sen, YTL fell 5.5 sen to 91 sen while Borneo Oil, Tanco and Focus Dynamics were flat at 1.5 sen, 50.5 sen and 1.5 sen respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 26.38 points lower at 10,206.43, the FBMT 100 Index lost 25.05 points to 9,906.04, the FBM Emas Shariah Index erased 38.44 points to 10,520.45, the FBM 70 Index dropped 136.79 points to 13,412.29 and the FBM ACE Index dipped 47.19 points to 5,081.24.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index erased 5.92 points to 783.11, the Industrial Products and Services Index trimmed 0.59 points to 158.25, the Plantation Index shed 17.19 points to 6,737.52 but the Financial Services Index rose 26.89 points to 15,300.11. ― Bernama