Bursa Malaysia Pares Gains, Turning Lower At Midday On Cautious Sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia pared earlier gains to end the morning session lower, as investors turned cautious ahead of the United States-Iran ceasefire deadline, coupled with selling pressure in selected financial heavyweights.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 5.63 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 1,682.49 from Tuesday’s close of 1,688.12.

The benchmark index opened 3.30 points higher at 1,691.42 and traded between 1,681.61 and 1,695.68 during the morning session.

However, market breadth was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 568 to 392. A total of 465 counters were unchanged, 1,304 untraded, and 13 suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.97 billion units, valued at RM1.40 billion.

Apex Securities Bhd said markets are expected to remain cautious but increasingly optimistic ahead of the April 22 potential ceasefire deadline, with President Donald Trump signalling a second round of US-Iran talks resumption in Pakistan within days.

The brokerage firm also noted that China called the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz “dangerous and irresponsible”, while crude oil eased back below US$100 per barrel (US$1=RM3.94) amid optimism over the peace deal.

“Against this backdrop, the Malaysian market is expected to remain headline-driven, balancing energy sector tailwinds against the prospect of a sharp oil price correction should talks produce a breakthrough before the ceasefire expires,” it said in a note today.

Among heavyweights, Maybank remained unchanged at RM11.04, Public Bank slipped four sen to RM4.60, CIMB fell five sen to RM7.50, Tenaga Nasional dropped 18 sen to RM14.14, and IHH Healthcare was two sen lower at RM8.73.

On the most active list, ACE Market-debutant 5E Resources edged up one sen to 27 sen, while MMAG eased half-a-sen to 3.5 sen. Zetrix AI grew 2.5 sen to 79.5 sen, AirAsia X  bagged four sen to RM1.23, and Capital A was up 1.5 sen to 45 sen.

Among top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries strengthened RM1.28 to RM31.92, Dutch Lady gained 20 sen to RM32, Hong Leong Industries notched up 32 sen to RM17.06, Malayan Cement and Fraser and Neave each rose 26 sen to RM6.86 and RM30.06, respectively.

Besides Tenaga Nasional, other top losers included Petronas Gas, which fell 26 sen to RM18, PPB Group losing 22 sen to RM11.58, Petronas Chemicals trimming 21 sen to RM5.69, and MISC erasing 16 sen to RM8.20.

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index decreased by 10.48 points to 12,241.41, the FBM Emas Index shed 4.96 points to 12,401.29, while the FBM Mid 70 Index went up 116.39 points to 17,492.65, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 14.29 points to 12,326.88, and the FBM ACE Index was up 31.12 points to 4,498.83.

By sector, the Financial Services Index declined by 35.51 points to 19,637.36, while the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.33 of a point to 187.32, the Plantation Index reduced 38.25 points to 8,902.53, and the Energy Index slid 3.32 points to 820.21.

-- BERNAMA