KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 ― Bursa Malaysia stayed in negative territory at mid-day today as investors continued to withdraw funds from the equity market, amid the bearish sentiment.

At 12.30pm, the key FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 2.45 points to 1,689.87 from yesterday's close of 1,692.32.

The index opened 9.35 points lower at 1,682.97 and moved between 1,678.03 and 1,690.86 throughout the morning session.

On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 379 to 275, while 392 counters were unchanged, 880 untraded and 31 others suspended.

Volume stood at 944.01 million units valued at RM829.76 million.    

In a note today, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd (Maybank IB) said foreigners were net sellers of Malaysian equities totaling RM2.1 billion for the first 15 days of June this year, as compared with RM5.6 billion in May.

“Net foreign selling in the equity market was mainly attributed to the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate decision, trade issues or disputes at the Group of Seven (G7)  meeting and continued US-China 'trade war',” it said.

The research house opined that net outflows may persist through, as the net outflow of RM4.1 billion reported from January to June 15 this year was still small, as compared to the net inflow of RM10.6 billion in equities reported in 2017.

In addition, Maybank IB said the recent monetary policy decisions by the major central banks and the more hawkish view by the US Fed may result in foreign funds leaving emerging markets, including Malaysia, in search for better yields elsewhere.

For heavyweights, Tenaga, which was among the top losers, declined 30 sen to RM13.64, Maxis fell 10 sen to RM5.47, Axiata and Sime Darby declined eight sen each to RM4.25 and RM5.27 respectively, while MISC was 13 sen lower at RM5.87.

Among actives, Sapura Energy bagged 2.5 sen to 62.5 sen, Telekom increased nine sen to RM3.23, Iris ticked up half-a-sen to 15.5 sen, while PUC trimmed half-a-sen to 18.5 sen and MyEG slashed one sen to 99 sen.

BAT was the top loser, easing 76 sen to RM35.32, KESM declined 32 sen to RM16.50, Ayer shed 30 sen to RM5.20, Superlon was 28 sen easier at RM1.24 and KLK dwindled 20 sen to RM23.58.

The FBM Emas Index lost 22.31 points to 11,934.57, the FBMT100 Index slid 22.03 points to 11,723.18, the FBM Emas Shariah Index skidded 64.19 points to 11,982.67 and the FBM70 was 46.10 points weaker at 14,496.45.

The FBM Ace Index improved 18.07 points to 5,176.52.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Index gave up 21.56 points to 3,108.02, the Plantation Index inched down 31.77 points to 7,505.81, while the Finance Index surged 107.01 points to 16,853.34. ― Bernama