KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 — Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower as investors remained concerned over the surging Covid-19 cases that have led to the extension of the movement control order.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 17.40 points to 1,542.28 from Friday’s close of 1,559.68.
The market bellwether opened 2.22 of-a-point lower at 1,557.46 and moved between 1,540.54 and 1,557.58 throughout the session.
On the broader market, losers thumped gainers 886 to 110, while 321 counters were unchanged, 920 untraded and 42 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 3.02 billion units valued at RM1.4 billion.
Regional markets saw mixed trading amidst worries over rising Covid-19 cases, echoing the mixed performance on the Wall Street last Friday.
Japan’s Nikkei eased 0.07 per cent to 29,045.56, China’s SSE Composite Index was 0.06 per cent lower at 3,605.58, while the Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.3 per cent to 3,131.00.
The United States’ equities market ended mixed on Friday as a weaker-than-expected inflation data eased worries about a sudden tapering in stimulus by the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.69 per cent to 34,433.8 points, the S&P 500 gained 0.33 per cent to 4,280.7 points and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed marginally lower by 0.07 per cent at 14,360.4 points.
Back home, among the heavyweights, only PetChem and Genting Malaysia were in positive territory at midday — the former rising by eight sen to RM8.08 and the latter gaining two sen to RM2.85.
Press Metal slipped 10 sen to RM4.78, Public Bank fell six sen to RM4.13, Top Glove dropped nine sen to RM4.26 and Sime Darby Plantation dipped 12 sen to RM4.07.
Of the actives, Serba Dinamik shed six sen to 35 sen, Boustead eased 5.5 sen to 71.5 sen, and Dagang NeXchange added half-a-sen to 73.5.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 124.09 points weaker at 11,210.31, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 117.79 points to 10,927.31, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 138.81 points to 12,246.95.
The FBM ACE dipped 155 points to 7,066.80 and the FBM 70 eased 134.64 points to 14,484.89.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gave up 159.32 points to 15,120.39, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.66 points easier at 186.32, and the Plantation Index dropped 109.16 points to 6,413.24. — Bernama
