KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower, in sync with the weaker regional markets’ performance as investors were jittery over the geopolitical situation, a dealer said.
At the lunch break, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 9.92 points to 1,440.62 from yesterday's close of 1,450.54.
The market bellwether opened 3.04 points easier at 1,447.50.
On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 464 to 279, while 370 counters were unchanged, 1,212 untraded and 13 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.36 billion units valued at RM796.80 million.
ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves said Asian equities were defensive on Wednesday, with geopolitical tensions driving price action.
"This comes after reports that at least two people have died after Russian missiles landed outside the rural Polish village of Przewodow, on the Ukrainian border.
"Traders are waiting for further developments on the geopolitical front for direction for risk assets. Any signal of escalation in the volatile situation could see a reaction across markets," he said.
Back home, Bursa heavyweight Public Bank lost seven sen to RM4.30, both Petronas Chemicals and IHH Healthcare gave up one sen each to RM8.61 and RM5.95, respectively, and CIMB narrowed eight sen to RM5.33, while Maybank was flat at RM8.50.
Among the actives, Advance Synergy decreased one sen to 11.5 sen, XOX eased half-a-sen to two sen, Malaysia Steel Works gained nine sen to 35.5 sen and Hiap Teck Venture added two sen to 26.5 sen, while Top Glove was flat at 97 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index contracted 44.26 points to 10,399.71, the FBM Emas Index lost 62.34 points to 10,253.33, the FBMT 100 Index lessened by 64.56 points to 9,980.41, the FBM 70 narrowed 62.41 points to 12,242.16 and the FBM ACE reduced 36.77 points to 4,976.35.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dropped 115.51 points to 16,056.22, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.17 of-a-point to 178.49, the Energy Index inched down 2.88 points to 722.55 and the Plantation Index dwindled 47.52 points to 6,883.94. ― Bernama
