KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session in the red along with regional markets, taking a cue from the losses on Wall Street overnight after worse-than-expected inflation data dampened hopes of an interest rate cut in May.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 5.89 points to 1,525.48 from yesterday's close of 1,531.37.
The barometer index, which opened 3.58 points easier at 1,527.79, moved between 1,521.79 and 1,530.95 during the morning session.
Decliners led gainers in the broader market 474 to 266, while 377 counters were unchanged, 1,183 untraded and 10 others suspended.
In a note earlier today, Public Investment Bank Bhd pointed out the key index had surged 19.09 points to close at 1,531.37 yesterday, with gainers outpacing decliners 634 to 297.
“At this juncture, the FBM KLCI is anticipated to trend higher towards the subsequent resistance level of 1,551 in the near term should there be genuine bullish breakout above the 1,515 horizon,” it said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell three sen to RM9.41, Public Bank lost two sen to RM4.38, Tenaga Nasional declined eight sen to RM11.00, Petronas Chemicals dropped seven sen to RM6.77, and CIMB added one sen to RM6.35.
As for the actives, YTL Power erased six sen to RM3.92, Ekovest shed half-a-sen to 54 sen, Dagang Nexchange rose 1.5 sen to 35 sen, and YNH Property trimmed 1.5 sen to 66 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 33.16 points to 11,340.85, the FBMT 100 Index fell 32.71 points to 10,997.08, the FBM 70 Index shaved 5.63 points to 15,328.68, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 43.87 points to 11,368.77, and the FBM ACE Index reduced 25.43 points to 4,808.09.
Sector-wise, the Property Index slipped 2.25 points to 925.31, the Plantation Index fell 56.27 points to 7,220.36, and the Energy Index went down 2.44 points to 888.96.
The Financial Services Index lost 18.10 points to 17,130.15, and the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.62 of-a-point to 174.14. ― Bernama
