KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the choppy morning trading session on a low note as investors refrained from making active bets in the absence of major market-moving catalysts.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid by 5.65 points to 1,399.28 from 1,404.93 at yesterday’s close.

The barometer index opened 1.11 points higher at 1,406.04, but subsequently retreated to as low as 1,398.83 at one point during the session.

On the broader market, losers surpassed gainers 423 to 322, while 362 counters were unchanged, 1,157 untraded and 60 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.32 billion units worth RM910.97 million.

A trader said the domestic market’s performance was also in sync with regional markets.

Japan's Nikkei Index eased by 0.03 per cent to 31,224.01, Shanghai Composite Index reduced 0.71 per cent to 3,198.58 and the Hang Seng Index dipped by 0.98 per cent to 18,369.93, while the Straits Times Index posted modest gains of 0.10 per cent to 3,198.30.

Meanwhile, the United States’ (US) Wall Street closed for Memorial Day, and China's markets were affected by the fall in China's industrial profits.

The trader said investors were also cautious ahead of the vote on the US debt ceiling deal tomorrow.

Among the Bursa Malaysia heavyweights, Public Bank eased 3.0 sen to RM3.86, Tenaga Nasional fell 17.0 sen to RM9.58, and both Petronas Chemicals and CelcomDigi reduced 1.0 sen to RM6.86 and RM4.55, respectively, while Maybank was flat at RM8.60.

As for the active counters, Dagang Nexchange increased 3.0 sen to 42.0 sen, YTL gained 2.0 sen to 92.0 sen, Bahvest Resources perked 2.5 sen to 22.5 sen and Widad Group edged up half-a-sen to 43.5 sen, while Cloudpoint Technology slid 2.0 sen to 49.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index reduced by 24.98 points to 10,300.07 and the FBMT 100 Index declined 25.91 points to 10,005.70, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index ticked up 5.55 points to 10,674.58, the FBM 70 Index rose 26.70 points to 13,506.70, and the FBM ACE Index was up 23.71 points to 4,994.79.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index rose 9.69 points to 823.56, while the Industrial Products and Services Index went down 0.96 points to 163.57, the Plantation Index fell 56.98 points to 6,737.43 and the Financial Services Index shed 0.02 of-a-point to 15,297.26. ― Bernama