Bursa Malaysia Ends Morning Session Lower As Sentiment Turned Cautious

KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower in choppy trading, as sentiment turned cautious despite a global rally following a US court decision to block President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 1.29 points to 1,522.19 from Wednesday’s close of 1,523.48.

The benchmark index opened 2.12 points higher at 1,525.60, fluctuating between 1,518.38 and 1,526.94 throughout the morning session.

In the broader market, decliners led gainers 428 to 400, while 418 counters were unchanged, 1,140 untraded and 110 suspended.

Turnover was 2.15 billion shares worth RM1.05 billion.

It was reported that the US Federal Court blocked Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs from going into effect, ruling that the president exceeded his authority by imposing broad tariffs on imports from countries that sell more to the US than they buy.

An analyst noted that despite Wall Street’s overnight rally, the local bourse bucked the trend to finish in the red at midday, with investors remaining cautious while seeking further clarity on the implications of the latest tariff dispute developments, despite global markets responding positively.

Among heavyweights, Maybank gained three sen to RM9.87, and Public Bank added one sen to RM4.34, while Tenaga fell two sen to RM14.08, and CIMB shed one sen to RM6.86. IHH Healthcare was flat at RM6.91.

In active trade, Permaju inched down half-a-sen to one sen, while Harvest Miracle and TA Win were flat at 18 sen and two sen, respectively. Tanco gained one sen to RM1.04, and NexG gained half-a-sen to 37 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index edged up 0.89 points to 11,398.06, the FBM ACE Index rose 14.36 points to 4,563.70, but the FBMT 100 Index fell 2.12 points to 11,159.24.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 8.71 points to 11,384.22, while the FBM 70 Index rose by 25.90 points to 16,332.56.

By sector, the Financial Services Index plunged 44.17 points to 17,913.73, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased 0.82 points to 153.52, the Energy Index fell 0.36 points to 706.15, while the Plantation Index rose 26.14 points to 7,318.69.

-- BERNAMA