KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 — Shares on Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower on cautious sentiment as investors awaited the outcome of the new round of US-China trade talks, dealers said.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 2.45 points to 1,686.11 from yesterday’s close of 1,688.56.
The index opened 3.66 points firmer at 1,692.22 and moved between 1,683.73 and 1,692.22 throughout the session.
A dealer said the market failed to retain the stronger momentum at the opening due to the lack of more positive cues to support a stronger recovery off current levels, amid the cautious mood as investors closely monitored the US-China trade talks which began in Beijing yesterday.
Among heavyweights, Maybank eased one sen to RM9.58, Public Bank fell 12 sen to RM24.96, TNB lost 14 sen to RM13.02 and Petronas Chemicals declined 13 sen to RM8.41.
CIMB added four sen to RM5.80.
Among actives, Seacera improved 2.5 sen to 28.5 sen, Barakah gained 1.5 sen to 12 sen and VS Industry perked three sen to 90 sen.
Bumi Armada lost one sen to 22.5 sen, while Sapura Energy was flat at 28 sen.
The FBM Emas Index was 7.391 points lower at 11,721.43, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 9.051 points to 11,590.52 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 6.54 points to 11,568.66.
The FBM 70 increased 21.22 points to 13,985.83 and the FBM Ace Index rose 25.67 points to 4,609.19.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index went up 8.16 points to 17,715.83 and the Plantation Index jumped 51.55 points to 7,310.04, while the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 1.38 point to 161.12.
The broader market was slightly negative with decliners outpacing gainers 368 to 348, while 340 counters were unchanged, 797 untraded and 23 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 1.5 billion shares worth RM845.35 million. — Bernama
