By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower amid profit-taking in selected plantation and financial services heavyweights.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 3.62 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 1,711.54 from Thursday’s close of 1,715.16.
The benchmark index opened 2.47 points higher at 1,717.63 and moved between 1,709.34 and 1,721.48 during the session.
Market breadth was negative with losers outnumbering gainers 506 to 395. A total of 549 counters were unchanged, while 1,206 were untraded and 22 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.88 billion shares valued at RM1.41 billion.
At noon, the Department of Statistics (DOSM) announced the advanced gross domestic product (GDP) estimates for the fourth quarter of 2025 (4Q2025), projecting Malaysia’s economy to expand by 5.7 per cent, supported by strong performance across major economic sectors and robust domestic demand.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist, Mohd Sedek Jantan said the weaker performance of the FBM KLCI despite the positive GDP data was normal, as the market is still digesting the advance estimates.
He said the current decline was largely due to profit-taking after five consecutive days of gains, noting that buying interest, particularly from foreign investors, typically emerges in the afternoon session.
Among heavyweights, Maybank gained eight sen to RM11.18, while Public Bank erased one sen to RM4.74, CIMB lost four sen to RM8.41, Tenaga Nasional decreased eight sen to RM13.84 and IHH fell three sen to RM8.40.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI was flat at 82.5 sen, while Capital A bagged 2.5 sen to 55.5 sen, Velesto inched up half-a-sen to 28 sen, Northeast increased 6.5 sen to 66 sen, and Tanco ticked up one sen to RM1.25.
Of the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific expanded 88 sen to RM34.58, Fraser & Neave advanced 26 sen to RM36.26, Batu Kawan jumped 22 sen to RM20.24, Southern Cable improved 15 sen to RM2.39, and Hong Leong Financial firmed 14 sen to RM20.96.
As for the leading decliners, United Plantations lost 78 sen to RM32.20, KL Kepong dropped 50 sen to RM20.04, Ayer Holdings weakened 41 sen to RM6.98, Westports slipped 28 sen to RM5.84, and Hong Leong Bank lost 16 sen to RM23.84.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index shed 18.52 points to 12,638.11, the FBM Top 100 Index decreased 20.06 points to 12,429.95, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 38.73 points to 12,288.32.
The FBM Mid 70 Index inched down 0.81 of-a-point to 17,684.74, and the FBM ACE Index lost 13.16 points to 4,952.80.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index firmed 33.25 points to 20,737.53, the Energy Index slid 5.02 points to 781.41, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.38 of-a-point to 174.35, and the Plantation Index shaved 58.87 points to 8,390.16.
-- BERNAMA
