KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Bursa Malaysia remained marginally lower at mid-morning on Thursday amid cautious regional sentiment, as profit taking in selected heavyweights, led by Tenaga Nasional Bhd, weighed on the market.

At 11am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 1.96 points to 1,548.25 from Wednesday’s close of 1,550.21.

The benchmark index had opened 1.80 points lower at 1,548.41.

However, the broader market was firmer, with 422 gainers outpacing 327 decliners. Another 398 counters were unchanged, 1,241 untraded and 11 suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.75 billion shares worth RM848.66 million.

Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said in a note that upside for the benchmark index may be capped in the near term by the looming tariff deadline and ongoing domestic policy risks.

These, it said, include rationalisation of fuel and electricity subsidies, port tariff hikes, and the broadening of the sales and services tax in the second half of 2025 — factors that could dampen household spending and cloud corporate earnings visibility.

Even so, the FBM KLCI could continue to build on its rebound from the recent low of 1,488.90, supported by easing geopolitical tensions, renewed foreign inflows and a seasonally stronger July performance.

Among heavyweights, Maybank and Public Bank shed 2.0 sen each to RM9.74 and RM4.30, respectively.

Tenaga Nasional declined 58 sen to RM14.02, while CIMB gained 6.0 sen to RM6.84 and IHH Healthcare rose 1.0 sen to RM6.84.

In active trade, MEXG added half-a-sen to 38.5 sen, Tanco rose 1.0 sen to 9.0 sen, Bina Puri was flat at 30 sen, while Pharmaniaga slipped 1.0 sen to 14.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 4.36 points to 11,586.45, the FBMT 100 Index added 1.76 points to 11,362.53, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 5.50 points to 11,594.33.

The FBM 70 Index climbed 73.19 points to 16,684.44, while the FBM ACE Index rose 21.19 points to 4,500.28.

Across sectors, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.19 points to 155.66, the Financial Services Index advanced 17.01 points to 17,725.77, the Plantation Index slipped 9.74 points to 7,386.22, and the Energy Index eased 0.96 of a point to 746.21. — Bernama