Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia experienced a downturn in late-morning trading as investors opted to book profits, particularly in the consumer products, plantation, and utilities sectors. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 4.82 points, or 0.30%, to 1,608.74 from the previous close of 1,613.56.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the benchmark index initially opened 1.01 points higher at 1,614.57 and fluctuated between 1,606.44 and 1,617.02 throughout the morning session. The market displayed negative breadth with 541 losers surpassing 301 gainers, while 467 counters remained unchanged, 1,427 were untraded, and 77 were suspended. Total turnover amounted to 1.61 billion shares, valued at RM1.12 billion.
In a statement, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd indicated that market sentiment is anticipated to improve and become clearer following the meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. This meeting is planned for October 30, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Busan, South Korea. The brokerage also suggested that traders might find entry opportunities, especially in technology-related stocks that could benefit from the rising demand for data storage.
Among the heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional saw an increase of two sen to RM13.24, while Maybank and Public Bank each decreased by two sen to RM9.86 and RM4.19 respectively. IHH Healthcare declined by four sen to RM8.24, with CIMB Group remaining unchanged at RM7.39.
On the active list, Borneo Oil remained stable at half-a-sen, whereas Perak Transit and Zetrix AI both fell by two sen to 37.5 sen and 81.5 sen, respectively. Tanco Holdings increased by two sen to 92.5 sen, and Ekovest dropped by 1.5 sen to 36.5 sen.
Notable gainers included Nestle, which rose RM2.60 to RM109.70, Malayan Cement increased by 28 sen to RM6.70, Chin Teck improved by 26 sen to RM11.26, Dufu Technology rose by 15 sen to RM1.88, and Pentamaster added 12 sen to RM4.43.
Among the top losers were Petronas Dagangan, which fell 32 sen to RM22.14, Bintulu Port, which eased 26 sen to RM5, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, which slipped 22 sen to RM20.64, Petronas Gas, which declined 10 sen to RM18.50, and Ecomate Holdings, which was eight sen lower at RM1.44.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 33.92 points to 12,032.17, the FBMT 100 Index fell 35.80 points to 11,771.56, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 38.54 points to 12,113.47, the FBM 70 Index decreased 54.21 points to 17,129.31, and the FBM ACE Index weakened by 22 points to 5,158.25.
In terms of sectors, the Financial Services Index shed 20.61 points to 18,172.69, the Energy Index lost 4.76 points to 768.32, and the Plantation Index fell 23.45 points to 7,955.63, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.20 points to 171.15.