KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 ― Share prices on Bursa Malaysia turned lower at mid-day today on lack of buying support and in the absence of fresh market leads, dealers said.
At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) lost 3.92 points to 1,826.82, after hovering between 1,826.77 and 1,833.80 throughout the session.
A dealer said market sentiment remained fragile following weak economic data from the US, which showed home sales fell to a 18-month low in January.
On the scoreboard, the Finance Index fell 22.73 points to 16,541.55, and the Industrial Index lost 15.76 points to 3,119.06, while the Plantation Index firmed 13.23 points to 8,755.10.
The FBM Emas Index lost 24.5 points to 12,643.36, the FBM 70 fell 8.49 points to 13,804.97, and the FBMT100 Index declined 22.20 points to 12,303.81, while the FBM Ace gained 55.13 points to 6,759.26.
Losers outnumbered gainers 416 to 364, with 276 counters unchanged, 561 untraded and 17 others suspended.
Turnover totalled 871.74 million shares worth RM1.89 billion.
Among actives, Asia Bioenergy slipped 1.5 sen to 14 sen, Luster Industries added 1.5 sen to 13 sen, and Minetech Resources gained half a sen to 20.5 sen.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank gave up one sen to RM9.75, while Tenaga Nasional rose four sen to RM12.04 and CIMB improved two sen to RM7.09. ― Bernama
