Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia traded within a narrow range and concluded the morning session slightly lower, with the key index decreasing by 0.05 percent. At 12:30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) reduced by 0.87 points to 1,601.82, compared to Wednesday's closing at 1,602.69. The benchmark index opened 1.43 points weaker at 1,602.26 and fluctuated between 1,610.26 and 1,606.51 during the morning session.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the market breadth was negative, with 580 decliners surpassing 329 gainers, and 462 counters remained unchanged, while 1,325 were untraded and eight were suspended. The turnover stood at 2.13 billion units valued at RM1.27 billion. Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd stated that the FBM KLCI mirrored Wall Street's overnight losses and continues to experience risk-off sentiment.
It was noted that Wall Street traded lower due to increased concerns about the uncertainty of US-China trade relations. Stocks stayed under pressure after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the White House is considering curbs on exports to China made with US software.
Among the heavyweight counters, CelcomDigi, YTL Corporation, and Petronas Chemicals decreased by seven sen each to RM3.59, RM2.43, and RM3.90, respectively. Sunway and IOI added one sen each to RM5.55 and RM3.97. On the most active list, Perak Transit and Zetrix AI remained flat at 33.5 sen and 85 sen, respectively, while THMY surged 51.5 sen to 82.5 sen, and Tanco rose half-a-sen to 88 sen. Verdant Solar lost three sen to 34 sen.
Among the top gainers, Fraser and Neave increased by 60 sen to RM28.92, Bintulu Port gained 32 sen to RM5.50, Dutch Lady added 26 sen to RM26.46, and Spritzer was up 22 sen at RM2.72. Top decliners included Nestle, which fell 50 sen to RM107.80, Malayan Cement slipped 21 sen to RM6.37, and Petronas Gas shed 20 sen to RM18.54. Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 18 sen to RM20.54.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 7.82 points to 11,992.38, the FBMT 100 Index narrowed by 9.23 points to 11,726.61, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased by 17.93 points to 12,080.59. The FBM ACE Index lost 25.67 points to 5,264.59, and the FBM 70 Index reduced by 25.72 points to 17,088.47.
By sector, the Financial Services Index gained 30.02 points to 18,098.26, and the Plantation Index widened by 8.21 points to 7,916.03. The Industrial Products and Services Index decreased by 0.13 of a point to 170.23, and the Energy Index trimmed 2.91 points to 782.49.