Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia remained lower at midday, influenced by ongoing selling pressure in heavyweight counters, aligning with weaker regional performance amid escalating oil prices due to ongoing US-Iran tensions. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell by 17.18 points, or 1.00%, to 1,688.34 compared to Thursday's close of 1,705.52. The benchmark index initiated the day 0.23 points lower at 1,705.29, fluctuating between 1,687.44 and 1,705.69 during the morning session.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, market breadth was negative, with 744 losers outpacing 336 gainers. A total of 417 counters remained unchanged, 1,334 were untraded, and 32 were suspended. The market turnover stood at 2.22 billion shares valued at RM1.58 billion. Apex Securities Bhd expressed caution regarding the near-term global risk appetite, citing surging oil prices, rising US Treasury yields, and an increasingly hawkish rate outlook as contributors to a fragile market environment.
The stockbroking firm highlighted that investors are approaching a crucial inflation reading and next week's US Federal Reserve policy decision amidst heightened uncertainty. "As for the KLCI, we expect sentiment to remain cautious in the near term, as elevated crude prices continue to raise cost pressures across the broader market, with investors awaiting greater clarity on the West Asia conflict and the US interest-rate outlook," the firm remarked in a note. At the time of reporting, Brent crude oil saw a rise of 0.31% to US$107.93 per barrel.
Among significant stocks, Maybank decreased by two sen to RM10.44, Public Bank eased six sen to RM4.79, CIMB dropped 10 sen to RM7.82, Tenaga slid 12 sen to RM13.60, and IHH Healthcare slipped 29 sen to RM7.60. Actively traded stocks included Top Glove, which added four sen to 80.5 sen, and Zetrix AI, which advanced half a sen to 25.5 sen, while Luster Industries and Supermax remained flat, each at 3.5 sen and 43 sen, respectively. Hartalega rose eight sen to RM1.19.
The top gainers were led by Petronas Chemicals, which increased by 24 sen to RM5.06. Henyuan Refining gained 13 sen to RM3.52, Eurospan rose 10 sen to RM3.07, while Kerjaya Prospek and Hibiscus Petroleum strengthened by eight sen each to RM3.60 and RM2.35, respectively. Conversely, top losers included Allianz Malaysia, which fell 40 sen to RM21.28, Sunway Construction decreased by 33 sen to RM7.58, Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 32 sen to RM22.42, Hong Leong Bank reduced by 30 sen to RM23.30, and Vitrox declined by 27 sen to RM9.20.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index weakened by 114.41 points to 12,524.74, while the FBM Top 100 Index slid 118.92 points to 12,319.31, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 105.56 points to 12,397.14. The FBM Mid 70 Index erased 143.90 points to 17,756.70, and the FBM ACE Index fell 59.24 points to 5,253.20. Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index retreated 203.14 points to 19,700.96, and the Plantation Index trimmed 9.84 points to 9,439.27. The Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.03 of-a-point to 188.85, while the Energy Index strengthened 5.69 points to 825.13.