Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session in the red, weighed down by selling pressure in banking stocks. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 5.34 points to 1,726.11 from last Friday's close of 1,731.45. The benchmark index opened 1.20 points higher at 1,732.65, and moved between 1,724.64 and 1,733.76 during the morning trading session.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, market breadth was slightly positive with gainers leading losers at 490 to 445, while 499 counters were unchanged, 1,301 untraded and 12 suspended. Turnover stood at 2.01 billion units worth RM992.02 million. Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd noted that the benchmark FBM KLCI was expected to start the week on a softer note, especially in the technology sector, following Wall Street's negative closing last Friday.
The report highlighted the impact of the ongoing US-Iran conflict, which has led to heavy drone and missile strikes, prompting expectations of a risk-off mode in Wall Street. Despite this, the spike in crude oil prices was anticipated to benefit energy-related counters.
Bursa Malaysia mirrored the movement of some regional peers, with Japan's Nikkei 225 dropping 4.03 per cent to 64,141.12, South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index declining 3.12 per cent to 6,606.36, and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange easing 0.11 per cent to 13,692.01. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 2.08 per cent to 25,072.77, and Singapore's Straits Times Index inched up 0.06 per cent to 5,512.09.
The banking sector saw significant declines with Maybank falling 14 sen to RM11.06, Public Bank shedding five sen to RM5.20, CIMB dropping eight sen to RM7.74, Hong Leong Bank falling 28 sen to RM22.16, and RHB Bank sliding 11 sen to RM8.42.
Among other heavyweight counters, Tenaga Nasional and Press Metal Aluminium remained unchanged at RM14.30 and RM8.00, respectively. IHH Healthcare gained four sen to RM8.54, Petronas Chemicals Group added 13 sen to RM4.86, while SD Guthrie lost five sen to RM6.70.
In the actively traded stocks category, Inari Amertron increased by 11 sen to RM2.28, Aimax gained half-a-sen to 15 sen, Pegasus Heights Bhd was stable at half-a-sen, Tanco Holdings fell 2.5 sen to 31 sen, and Dagang NeXchange edged down half-a-sen to 43.5 sen.
Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which climbed RM1.16 to RM44.36, Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia, which rose 35 sen to RM5.65, Westports Holdings, which increased 34 sen to RM6.49, Kelington Group, which jumped 25 sen to RM7.75, and Vitrox, which leapt 20 sen to RM7.48.
The top losers were led by Nestle, which declined 66 sen to RM92.78, Hong Leong Financial, which slipped 20 sen to RM18.62, and Batu Kawan Bhd, which erased 12 sen to RM21.20.
In broader indices, the FBM Mid 70 Index surged 157.16 points to 17,932.08, the FBM Emas Index rose 2.58 points to 12,721.67, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 68.64 points to 12,551.11. The FBM ACE Index went up 13.78 points to 4,892.93, while the FBMT 100 Index decreased by 1.52 points to 12,556.03.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dipped 200.18 points to 20,335.17, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.20 points to 187.93, the Plantation Index declined 10.06 points to 9,473.71, and the Energy Index advanced 12.87 points to 779.15.