Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower on Monday, in line with most of its regional peers, weighed down by profit taking in selected heavyweights.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 5.36 points to 1,537.03 from Friday’s (March 22) close of 1,542.39.
The benchmark index opened 2.16 lower at 1,540.23, and moved between 1,532.73 and 1,540.23 throughout the session.
Market breadth was negative with decliners outpacing advancers 503 to 414, while 443 counters were unchanged, 975 untraded and 37 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.11 billion units worth RM1.11 billion.
Most key regional markets were lower at midday, retreating from recent highs. Japan’s Nikkei index declined 3.04% to 40,621.24, Singapore’s Straits Times Index eased 0.35% to 3,206.75 and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.24% to 2,741.88.
Back home, heavyweights Maybank Bhd declined a sen to RM9.58, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd shed five sen to RM6.50, and Tenaga Nasional Bhd dropped six sen to RM11.50.
Public Bank Bhd was flat at RM4.24, while Petronas Chemical Group Bhd added a sen to RM6.80.
Among the actives, Sapura Energy Bhd was flat at 4.5 sen, while Velesto Energy Bhd added a sen to 29.5 sen, TWL Holdings Bhd edged up half a sen to three sen, Eversendai Corp Bhd gained 1.5 sen to 34.5 sen and Southern Scores Builders Bhd strengthened four sen to 30 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index shed 20.59 points to 11,534.51, the FBMT 100 Index was 21.84 points easier at 11,182.34, the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 24.92 points to 11,627.06 and the FBM ACE Index declined seven points to 4,849.34, while the FBM 70 Index advanced 39.48 points to 16,010.18.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index lost 31.13 points to 7,305.54 and the Financial Services Index reduced by 26.21 points to 17,162.67, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.21 points to 178.94 and the Energy Index expanded 4.79 points to 939.31, Bernama reported.
