KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 ― Bursa Malaysia reversed its earlier gains to end the morning trading session lower, as its benchmark index declined 0.11 per cent on profit-taking in selected heavyweights.

At lunch break, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 1.67 points to 1,586.58 from yesterday's close of 1,588.25.

The benchmark index opened 3.73 points higher at 1,591.98, and moved between 1,585.66 and 1,592.18 throughout the session.

Market breadth remained negative with losers surpassing gainers 590 to 347, while 448 counters remained unchanged, 769 untraded and five others suspended.

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Total volume stood at 4.14 million shares worth RM2.02 million.

Rakuten Trade Research said regional markets are expected to be mixed today amid the spike in Covid-19 cases.

“On the domestic front, we expect the FBM KLCI to remain stuck in its ongoing correction and anticipate the index to hover around the 1,580-1,590 range due to the absence of buying catalysts,” it said.

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Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 0.85 per cent to 3,152.22, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.64 per cent to 3,147.37 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng increased by 0.01 per cent to 28,599.80.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM8.24, Public Bank rose one sen to RM4.13, Petronas Chemicals increased two sen to RM8.20 and Top Glove lost eight sen to RM5.37.

Of the actives, Focus Dynamics decreased half-a-sen to 10 sen, Sedania soared eight sen to 31.5 sen and Dagang Nexchange improved three sen to 71 sen.

Top gainers include Transocean which firmed 58 sen to RM6.78 and Dataprep which expanded 37 sen to RM1.87, while MPI rose 20 sen to RM38.70 and Sungei Bagan Rubber firmed 13 sen to RM3.25.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 11.04 points lower at 11,690.14, the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 26.03 points to 13,108.29, the FBMT 100 Index fell 13.80 points to 11,334.76, the FBM 70 contracted 25.98 points to 15,389.60, and the FBM ACE lost 79.94 points to 8,547.46.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased 0.16 of-a-point to 199.39, the Plantation Index weakened by 41.52 points to 6,950.49, while the Financial Services Index gained 8.01 points to 14,847.23. ― Bernama