Bursa Malaysia Ends Morning Session Lower Amid Mixed Regional Markets

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower, weighed by continued selling in selected heavyweight counters despite promising uptake from the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) announcement last week and the US tariff reduction on Malaysian goods.

The downtrend at the midday break followed mixed performances in regional markets and a selloff on Wall Street last Friday.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 5.30 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 1,528.05 from last Friday’s close of 1,533.35.

The benchmark index had opened 3.07 points lower at 1,530.28 and moved between 1,522.96 and 1,530.28 throughout the morning session.

The market breadth was negative, with 540 decliners outpacing 313 gainers. Another 430 counters were unchanged, 1,207 untraded and 11 suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.67 billion securities worth RM952.56 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the local benchmark index kicked off the week on a softer note following Wall Street's sell-off on Friday.

However, the brokerage noted that the announcement of the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) last week placed strong emphasis on artificial intelligence development, green energy, and digital transformation — factors that could help lift market sentiment. “Therefore, we continue to remain bullish toward the utilities, construction, telecommunication, and renewable energy sectors,” it said in a note today.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank lost five sen to RM9.55, Public Bank fell four sen to RM4.25, and Tenaga Nasional was 12 sen lower at RM13.18. CIMB dipped five sen to RM6.74, while IHH Healthcare added two sen to RM6.70.

In active trade, Trive Property was flat at one sen, Magma lost 3.5 sen to 38 sen, Inari Amertron shed 14 sen to RM1.99, and Zetrix AI erased 1.5 sen to 88 sen. Pharmaniaga inched up one sen to 18 sen.

Top gainers included Nestle, which bagged 42 sen to RM88.22, while United Plantations and Allianz Malaysia garnered 18 sen each to RM21.80 and RM17.78, respectively.

Among the top decliners, Malaysian Pacific Industries lost 30 sen to RM20.04, Hong Leong Bank slipped 14 sen to RM19, and Petronas Dagangan was 14 sen down at RM21.48.

Across the broader market, the FBM Emas Index lost 42.66  points to 11,482.67, the FBMT 100 Index narrowed 42.49 points to 11,243.14, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 28.97 points to 11,511.79.

The FBM 70 Index declined 78.19 points to 16,635.68, while the FBM ACE Index went up 3.95 points to 4,628.32.

By sector, the Financial Services Index sank 101.47 points to 17,378.73, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.83 of a point to 158.31, and the Energy Index ticked down 5.36 points to 744.24. The Plantation Index ticked up 10.90 points to 7,381.87.

-- BERNAMA