KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower, mirroring the weaker Wall Street performance overnight.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 13.63 points to 1,529.29 from Monday's closing of 1,542.92. 

The index, which opened 1.22 points easier at 1,541.70, moved between 1,526.85 and 1,541.70 throughout the session.

On the broader market, decliners surpassed gainers 662 to 248, while 334 counters were unchanged, 1,004 untraded and 27 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.18 billion units valued at RM1.33 billion.

Rakuten Trade vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the Wall Street slumped as the reality of imminent higher interest rates has started to sink in with the United States (US) 10-year bond yield inching closer to a two-year high of 1.9 per cent.

“The Dow Jones Index Average lost 543 points, while the Nasdaq declined by 387 points to just above the 14,500 mark.

“As the valuation premium for US equities begins to narrow, we reckon market volatility would heighten,” he told Bernama.

As for the local bourse, the FBM KLCI ― which had experienced some steep selling of late ― is expected to remain volatile as the market undertone is jittery.

The index is expected to trend in the 1,535-1,550 range, and any further dips may see some bargain hunting activities.

At midday, Bursa heavyweights Petronas Chemicals rose three sen to RM8.98, TNB advanced four sen to RM9.08, IHH Healthcare was flat at RM6.56, Maybank and Public Bank were seven sen easier at RM8.34 and RM4.15, respectively, while CIMB lost 22 sen to RM5.29 and Press Metal shed three sen to RM5.89.

Of the actives, Dagang NeXchange improved five sen to 91.5 sen, Sarawak Consolidated appreciated 6.5 sen to 27 sen, AHB Holdings bagged one sen to 14 sen, EA Holdings fell one sen to half-a-sen, while Ageson and SMTrack edged down half-a-sen each to four sen and 23 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index contracted 116.99 points to 10,985.31, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 83.28 points to 11,694.74, the FBMT 100 Index dipped 116.06 points to 10,690.67, the FBM ACE trimmed 68.02 points to 6,175.15, and the FBM 70 erased 237.79 points to 13,548.84. 

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index contracted 278.90 points to 15,812.26, the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 1.18 points to 199.76, while the Plantation Index strengthened by 18.19 points to 6,681.37. ― Bernama