KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 ― Bursa Malaysia turned mixed at the end of the morning trading session due to selling activities in selected heavyweights, despite the positive sentiment in regional markets and the Wall Street’s better overnight performance.

At noon break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was flat at 1,489.20 from Thursday’s close of 1,489.20.

The index opened 2.77 points higher at 1,491.97 and moved between 1,486.02 and 1,495.57 throughout the session.

Losers edged past gainers at 404 to 356, while 447 counters were unchanged, 755 untraded and 35 others suspended.

Total volume stood at 2.69 billion shares worth RM1.10 billion.

A dealer said that the overnight Wall Street closed higher after the US Federal Reserve and other regulators announced they will ease rules that limit banks' ability to invest in hedge funds and some other areas.

He said the change could help to shore up slim bank profits after central banks cut interest rates to almost zero in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, gains were limited as investors remained concerned over the weak economic outlook on the global and local front, he said.

Meanwhile, among the heavyweights, Maybank rose two sen to RM7.63, Petronas advanced five sen to RM6.38, IHH Healthcare was flat at RM5.38 while TNB slipped 10 sen to RM11.48 and Public Bank fell two sen to RM13.36.

Of the most active, Anzo went up three sen to 18 sen, AT Systematization added one sen to 10 sen, Vsolar was flat at 5.5 sen while Appasia shed seven sen to 33.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 4.15 points to 10,478.91, the FBMT 100 Index appreciated 2.47 points to 10,331.56, while the FBM 70 improved 13.17 points to 12,839.42.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index was 5.37 points lower at 11,881.45, while the FBM ACE gained 15.72 points to 6,159.01.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index perked 1.27 point to 134.88, the Financial Services Index rose 10.36 points to 12,810.96 while the Plantation Index increased 10.82 points to 6,695.27. ― Bernama