KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower amid weaker market sentiment.
At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 6.70 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 1,405.03 from Friday's close of 1,411.73.
The market bellwether opened 3.55 points easier at 1,411.73 and subsequently moved between 1,400.49 and 1,408.52 throughout the session.
Market breadth was negative with losers trouncing gainers 555 to 251, while 318 counters were unchanged, 1,138 untraded and 16 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 1.92 billion units worth RM898.62 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said in view of the volatile US market last week, investors would remain wary. He expects the key index to trend within a tight range between 1,405 and 1,415 until there is more clarity from the March 21-22, 2023 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, its second for this year.
Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia heavyweights IHH Healthcare rose five sen to RM5.87 and CelcomDigi advanced nine sen to RM4.14.
Maybank and Public Bank were flat at RM8.38 and RM3.97, respectively. Petronas Chemicals dipped 27 sen to RM6.96, CIMB eased three sen to RM5.19 and TNB fell four sen to RM9.51.
Among the actives, Green Packet grew half-a-sen to 5.5 sen, Jade Marvel gained one sen to 31 sen, Sapura Energy was flat at 4.5 sen, Top Glove shed one sen to 90.5 sen, and Minda Global slipped half-a-sen to 14 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gave up 49.47 points to 10,286.93, the FBM 70 Index trimmed 55.53 points to 13,309.12, the FBMT 100 Index dwindled 46.32 points to 9,982.56, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 54.62 points easier to 10,612.62, and the FBM ACE Index slid 2.76 points to 5,246.18.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was down by 37.87 points to 15,501.84, the Energy Index decreased 18.43 points to 804.43, the Plantation Index narrowed 79.96 points to 6,792.36, and the Industrial Products and Services Index weakened 2.40 points to 167.65. — Bernama
