KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — Bursa Malaysia continued to stay negative at midday as the overall market sentiment remained weak.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.20 per cent or 3.28 points lower at 1,601.33 compared with Monday’s close of 1,604.61.
The barometer index opened 0.74 of-a-point easier at 1,603.87 and moved between 1,599.96 and 1,603.98 throughout the session.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 555 to 256, while 408 counters were unchanged, 1,034 untraded and 12 others suspended.
Total turnover stood at two billion units worth RM1.04 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said sentiments on Wall Street turned jittery, weighed on by higher yields and upcoming inflation data.
“We reckon market undertone would remain cautious as regional weaknesses are expected to persist, thus anticipate the index to hover in the 1,590-1,610 range,” it said in a note.
Meanwhile, Brent crude slipped to below the US$100 per barrel mark on concerns over demand attributed to the lockdown in Shanghai.
Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.50 per cent to 21,102.21, Japan’s Nikkei 225 eased 1.62 per cent to 26,386.48, Singapore’s Straits Times Index declined 0.89 per cent to 3,333.74, and South Korea’s Kospi slid 1.16 per cent to 2,661.78.
Back home, market heavyweights Maybank, Public Bank and CIMB were flat at RM8.85, RM4.67 and RM5.33, respectively, while Petronas Chemicals rose 12 sen to RM10.32 and IHH Healthcare added three sen to RM6.43.
Of the actives, CSH Alliance and TWL gained half-a-sen each to 14.5 sen and nine sen, respectively, MNC Wireless increased 1.5 sen to 4.5 sen, Tanco improved 11.5 sen to 51 sen, while Sapura Energy lost half-a-sen to 3.5 sen.
On the index board, FBMT 100 Index decreased 24.35 points to 11,119.20, FBM Emas Index was 24.71 points easier at 11,463.24, FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 32.42 points to 12,082.76, FBM 70 slipped 36.68 points to 13,739.80, and FBM ACE gave up 23.89 points to 5,770.60.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index reduced 0.45 of-a-point to 213.63, the Financial Services Index reduced 21.86 points to 16,734.0, while the Plantation Index gained 11.83 points to 8,486.79. — Bernama
