BURSA MALAYSIA EASIER AT MIDDAY IN LINE WITH MOST REGIONAL MARKETS

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower in tandem with most Asian markets amid selling pressure in technology and semiconductor sectors on Wall Street.  

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.61 points to 1,631.93 from Wednesday's close of 1,633.54

The index opened 0.16 of-a-point higher at 1,633.70 and fluctuated between 1,627.93 and 1,634.24 throughout the trading session.

Losers trumped gainers 740 to 339, with 488 counters unchanged, 881 untraded, and 16 others suspended.

Total turnover amounted to 3.03 billion units valued at RM1.84 billion.

Bursa Malaysia's Technology Index shed 2.04 points or 2.58 per cent to 77.19. 

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd anticipates mild profit-taking in technology stocks, with traders potentially rotating into value stocks.

"Nevertheless, we expect the data centre catalysts to stay intact and may provide buy-on-dip opportunities in related sectors, namely construction, utilities, building materials, and property. Also, we favour the gloves and shipping sector; the latter could be due to the persisting Red Sea tension,” it said in a research note today.

Traders would be eyeing today's upcoming US jobs data, it added.

Regionally, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.26 per cent to 17,786, Singapore's Straits Times Index eased 0.56 per cent to 2,469.95, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 2.17 per cent to 40,206.43, and South Korea Kospi Composite Index declined 1.27 per cent to 2,807.17.

Back home, Bursa Malaysia heavyweights Public Bank advanced six sen to RM4.23, Petronas Chemicals added one sen to RM6.04, CelcomDigi rose four sen to RM3.74, Maybank was flat at RM10.08, TNB shed four sen to RM14.46, while CIMB, IHH Healthcare and Press Metal eased three sen each to RM7.11, RM6.32 and RM5.69, respectively.

Active counters included Hubline which increased two sen to 10 sen, Ekovest perked up 1.5 sen to 57 sen, SNS Network slid one sen to 91 sen, MYEG dipped four sen to RM1.01, and Bintai Kinden went down half-a-sen to 13 sen.   

On the index front, the FBM Emas Index dwindled 22.86 points to 12,655.55, the FBMT 100 Index trimmed 20.37 points to 12,225.29, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 48.79 points to 13,038.13, the FBM 70 Index erased 61.78 points to 18,917.01, and the FBM ACE Index declined 27.90 points to 5,974.32.  

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index climbed 17.92 points to 17,953.09, the Plantation Index bagged 16.98 points to 7,091.69, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 2.95 points to 197.84, and the Energy Index eased 0.49 of-a-point to 971.89. 

-- BERNAMA