KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower with the key index falling 0.33 per cent as investors remain cautious over market volatility.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 5.02 points to 1,520.71 from 1,525.73 at yesterday’s close.
The index, which opened 0.57 of-a-point higher at 1,526.30, moved between 1,518.82 and 1,526.80 throughout the session.
Market breadth was negative with losers leading gainers 385 to 378, while 355 counters were unchanged, 1,088 untraded, and 23 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.33 billion units worth RM827.03 million.
In a note, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said with the market volatility heightened again, regional markets are to be similarly affected, thus the FBM KLCI may see some selling pressure today following yesterday’s solid performance.
“Therefore, we anticipate the index to trend within the 1,510-1,525 range today,” it said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and IHH Healthcare both dropped six sen to RM8.26 and RM6.45, respectively, Axiata lost four sen to RM3.82, and Maxis slid seven sen to RM4.26.
As for the actives, Dagang NeXchange inched up two sen to RM1, NCT Alliance up 1.5 sen to 55.5 sen, and Hibiscus Petroleum gained five sen to RM1.05.
On the index board, the FBM ACE improved 33.50 points to 6,159.42, while the FBM Emas Index dropped 25.41 points to 10,938.10, FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 27.63 points to 11,638.12, FBM 70 slipped 25.34 points to 13,443.18, and the FBMT 100 Index shed 31.72 points to 10,625.43.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 33.92 points to 15,766.03, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.44 of-a-point higher at 202.15, and the Plantation Index slid 0.34 of-a-point lower to 6,575.21. ― Bernama
