KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — Bursa Malaysia ended the lunch break lower, weighed down by selling in heavyweight stocks led by the finance sector, and in line with the mixed performance of its Asian peers, dealers said.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 6.46 points easier at 1,766.70, after moving between 1,766.14 and 1,785.69 throughout the morning session .   

It opened 12.53 points higher at 1,785.69 from last Wednesday’s close of  1,773.16.

The market was closed for two consecutive public holidays on Aug 31 and Sept 1.

Market breadth was negative with losers outpacing gainers 527 to 283, with 309 counters unchanged, 715 untraded and 21 others were suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.31 billion shares worth RM914.85 million.  

A dealer said Asian markets were mostly lower, dragged by concerns over North Korea but Chinese stocks remained supported amid expectations that Beijing would maintain support for its economy.

Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) said market volatility heightened with the extended concerns over the North Korean missile issue.

It said investors were cautious while focusing on upcoming events such as the European Central Bank meeting (Sept 7) and the Federal Open Market Committee meeting (Sept 20-21).

“On the local front, we think the market could be trending on a downward bias following events over the weekend.

“Nevertheless, buying support may emerge for stocks with better-than-expected corporate results released last week,”  said HLIB.

Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.57 per cent to 19,397.35., Hong Kong’s Hang Seng improved 0.23 per cent to 27,804.94, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.20 per cent to 2,325.01 while the Singapore Straits Times index gained 0.29 per cent to 3,240.16

Among heavyweights,  Maybank eased four sen to RM9.42, CIMB Group fell 32 sen each to RM6.76,  Tenaga added 10 sen to RM14.38, Sime Darby shed three sen to RM8.97 and Public Bank was flat at RM20.60.

Of actives,  Sino Hua added three sen to 18.5 sen, China Stationery improved two sen to six sen, Anzo Holdings edged up half-a-sen to 10.5 sen and Palette Multimedia gained 2.5 sen at 17.5 sen.

The FBM Emas Index was down 39.66 points at 12,570.41, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 36.63 points to 12,245.03, the FBM Ace slipped4.42 points to 6,608.32 and the FBM 70 fell 14.36 points to 15,045.48..

The FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 7.39 points to 12,756.48.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index was 8.51 points lower at 7,839.95, the Industrial Index eased 4.16 points to 3,196.98 and the Finance Index dropped 182.86 points to 16,589.45. — Bernama