KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 — Bursa Malaysia was lower at midday on selling pressure in most indices, led by the plantations as well as consumers and services counters.

At lunch break, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 1.76 points to 1,545.0 from Friday’s close of 1,546.76.

The benchmark index, which opened 0.41 of-a-point lower at 1,546.35, moved between 1,540.56 and 1,547.02 throughout the morning trading session.

On the broader market, losers surpassed gainers 484 to 318, while 375 counters were unchanged, 1,124 untraded and 64 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.83 billion units worth RM774.31 million.

Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd said investor sentiment is expected to stay dismal in the absence of fresh market catalysts.

"This may be more apparent, particularly in the mid, small and micro caps space,” the firm said in a note today, but added that it expects to see a busy week ahead with the release of the April banking statistics tomorrow, the Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index report on Wednesday and the FBMKLCI semi-annual review on June 2.

Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd expects to see buying interest emerging in the technology sector following the recovery in Nasdaq.

"The recovery-themed sectors should also gain traction, including consumer, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and utility stocks amid continuous economic activities following the reopening of international borders,” it said, adding that oil and gas may still be in focus on the back of firmer Brent oil price.

Among the heavyweights, both Maybank and Petronas Chemicals added 1.0 sen to RM9.0 and RM9.99, respectively, Public Bank lost 1.0 sen to RM4.61, Tenaga Nasional slid 3.0 sen to RM9.22, while IHH Healthcare was flat at RM6.60.

As for the actives, G3 Global, Green Packet, Sapura Energy and Widad were all flat at 7.0 sen, 8.0 sen, 8.0 sen, and 36 sen, respectively, while MNC Wireless rose half-a-sen to 2.0 sen.

On the index board, FBM ACE increased 0.76 of-a-point to 5,147.46, FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 20.90 points to 11,370.98, FBM Emas Index was down 18.13 points to 10,992.99, FBMT 100 Index declined 14.62 points to 10,693.06, and FBM 70 fell 28.01 points to 13,070.55.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.47 of-a-point easier at 198.94 and the Plantation Index slid 16.90 points to 7,992.82, while the Financial Services Index accumulated 1.92 points to 16,646.33. — Bernama