KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 ― Bursa Malaysia extended its earlier downtrend to end the morning session easier, echoing the weaker performance of regional peers, dampened by heightened concerns over the United States (US)-China tension.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 0.48 of-a-point to 1,457.02 from 1,457.53 at yesterday’s close.

The index, which opened 6.96 points weaker at 1,450.54 this morning, hovered between 1,448.84 and 1,459.28 throughout the early trading session.

A dealer said major Asian bourses were on a downtrend as hopes for global economic revival were dimmed by rising tensions between the US and China.

Market sentiment was influenced by reports on the US President Donald Trump’s plan to hold a news conference on Friday to address the soaring tension between the two countries over trade, the Covid-19 pandemic as well as China’s plan to implement national security law in Hong Kong.

Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei Index fell 0.49 per cent to 21,808.78, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index contracted 0.71 cent to 22,968.41 and Singapore's Straits Times Index declined 0.4 per cent to 2,505.21.

Back home, there were 464 gainers and 411 losers, while 366 counters were unchanged, 659 untraded and 51 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 4.27 billion units worth RM2.93 billion.

Among heavyweights, Tenaga lost eight sen to RM11.82, Public Bank and Maxis trimmed six sen each to RM15.12 and RM5.33 respectively, while IHH shed seven sen to RM5.39.

Maybank and Petronas Chemicals gained three sen each to RM7.44 and RM6.22, respectively.

Of the most actives, Careplus bagged 23 sen to RM1.34, Key Alliance inched up half-a-sen to eight sen, while XOX, AT Systematization and Sanichi added one sen each to 7.5 sen, six sen and 10.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 16.11 points better at 10,349.06, the FBMT 100 Index bagged 10.93 points to 10,195.22, the FBM Emas Shariah Index perked 7.12 points to 11,897.55, the FBM ACE earned 59.89 points to 5,589.51 and the FBM 70 increased 71.8 points to 13,026.43.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index improved 44.73 points to 12,424.28, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.82 of-a-point to 128.6, while the Plantation Index fell 71.31 points to 6,738.44. ― Bernama