KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — Bursa Malaysia was lower at midafternoon amid a lack of local catalysts, prevailing United States (US) interest rate volatility, and the intensifying US-China tension.
At 3.10pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 3.61 points to 1,450.58 from yesterday’s closing of 1,454.19.
The index opened 0.19 of a point higher at 1,454.38.
Market breadth was negative with decliners outpacing advancers 524 to 379, while 335 counters were unchanged, 965 untraded, and 20 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.28 billion units worth RM1.12 billion.
Heavyweight counters Tenaga Nasional and IHH fell 8.0 sen each to RM9.29 and RM5.71, respectively, while Axiata and Maybank dipped 4.0 sen to RM3.13 and RM8.76, respectively.
As for active stocks, Icon Offshore lost 3.0 sen to 9.0 sen, Velesto was flat at 19 sen while MY E.G and Vinvest improved 1.5 sen each to 73.5 sen and 23.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index trimmed 21.90 points to 10,557.23, the FBMT 100 Index slid 23.96 points to 10,247.50 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 36.85 points to 10,760.82.
The FBM 70 Index gave up 24.61 points to 13,412.02, while the FBM ACE Index improved by 38.36 points to 5,396.63.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index eased 11.32 points to 16,183.51, the Energy Index dipped 1.66 points to 841.91 and the Plantation Index shed 5.47 points to 6,761.17.
The Industrial Products and Services Index eased by 0.37 of a point to 177.06. — Bernama
