Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia remained lower at midday, weighed down by declines in the financial services, utilities, and plantation sectors. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 8.21 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 1,727.16 from yesterday's close of 1,735.37. The benchmark index opened slightly higher at 1,735.41, fluctuating between 1,725.48 and 1,738.21 during the morning trading session.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the broader market saw losers outpace gainers with 593 counters against 415, while 527 counters remained unchanged, 1,240 were untraded, and 13 were suspended. Turnover totaled 1.90 billion units worth RM1.42 billion. Apex Securities Bhd noted that resilient domestic economic conditions and sustained buying interest in selected heavyweights are expected to support the FBM KLCI. Technology counters may continue to outperform due to sustained buying momentum, while utilities and energy stocks could remain in focus, supported by defensive positioning and higher crude oil prices. Meanwhile, plantation and REIT counters may remain subdued after lagging the broader market.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell 10 sen to RM10.56, CIMB Group slipped five sen to RM7.87, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare eased one sen each to RM5.17 and RM8.34, respectively, and Tenaga Nasional lost 14 sen to RM14.26. On the most active list, Steel Hawk decreased by two sen to 11 sen, NationGate shed four sen to RM1.50, Zetrix AI and GIIB Holdings both inched down by one sen to 69.5 sen and 41.5 sen, respectively, while Dagang NeXchange edged down half a sen to 49.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Nestle surged RM1.90 to RM101.50, SAM Engineering advanced 24 sen to RM4.57, Greatech Technology gained 12 sen to RM2.73, Southern Cable Group added 11 sen to RM2.61, while UMS Integration rose 10 sen to RM7.95. As for the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries slid 72 sen to RM47.26, United Plantations declined 38 sen to RM33.50, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slipped 28 sen to RM21.56, Petronas Dagangan dropped 26 sen to RM19.08, while Kelington decreased 11 sen to RM8.59.
Among the broader indices, the FBM Emas Index fell 48.10 points to 12,820.37, the FBM Top 100 Index declined 50.46 points to 12,633.40, the FBM ACE Index was 9.28 points lower at 5,147.04, the FBM Mid 70 Index eased 32.28 points to 18,341.10, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 55.81 points to 12,659.69. By sector, the Energy Index rose 2.05 points to 767.69, while the Financial Services Index slid 83.12 points to 20,336.34, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.79 of a point to 187.37, and the Plantation Index declined 87.08 points to 9,433.41.