Bursa Edges Lower At Midday, Tracking Regional Losses

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia slipped at midday, mirroring declines in regional markets as investors continued profit-taking in select heavyweights, led by financial, and consumer products and services counters.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 6.75 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 1,616.75, from Tuesday’s close of 1,623.50.

The benchmark opened 1.26 points lower at 1,622.24, its session high, before sliding to an intraday low of 1,614.30.

Market breadth remained negative, with 803 losers outpacing 299 gainers. A further 496 counters were unchanged, 1,044 untraded, and eight suspended.

Turnover totalled 3.27 billion units worth RM1.35 billion.

The local index tracked regional peers, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index down 0.28 per cent at 25,878.80, South Korea’s Kospi Index off 3.25 per cent at 3,987.84, Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 3.06 per cent to 49,922.87, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index slipping 0.56 per cent to 4,397.95.

Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said the market faced choppy trends as investors assessed the impact of the six-week United States government shutdown.

“This has diverged US Federal Reserve views on a potential December interest rate cut, coinciding with the start of the local earnings season,” it said in a note today.

Among heavyweights, Hong Leong Bank fell 30 sen to RM20.94, CIMB Group dipped six sen to RM7.49, 99 Speed Mart Retail lost seven sen to RM3.03, Tenaga Nasional slid 10 sen to RM13.20, Maybank edged down one sen to RM9.94, while Public Bank gained two sen to RM4.28.

On the most active list, NexG Bina declined half-a-sen to four sen, MMAG fell 3.5 sen to 10.5 sen, Borneo Oil remained unchanged at half-a-sen, NexG eased 1.5 sen to 26.5 sen, and Tanco rose two sen to 87 sen.

Top gainers included Westports, up 31 sen to RM5.41, VSTECS rising 16 sen to RM3.96, Hong Leong Industries advancing 14 sen to RM14.26, Chin Teck Plantations up eight sen to RM10.50, and KLCC Properties and REITs gaining seven sen to RM8.78.

Other notable losers included Nestle, down RM1.10 to RM111.90, PJ Bumi off 53 sen to RM1.24, Malaysian Pacific Industries down 44 sen to RM30.12, and Sunway Construction falling 13 sen to RM5.67.

On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 40.73 points to 11,770.32, and the FBM Emas Index eased 41.85 points to 12,012.31.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 42.82 points to 12,012.61, the FBM ACE Index declined 14.33 points to 5,061.76, and the FBM Mid 70 Index dropped 21.62 points to 16,868.38.

By sector, the Plantation Index rose 0.12 points to 8,024.92, while the Financial Services Index fell 68.72 points to 18,382.70. The Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.31 points to 168.60, and the Energy Index slipped 5.61 points to 761.14.

-- BERNAMA