KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained lower at midday due to continued profit-taking after hitting a four-day high.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 5.60 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 1,622.12 from Wednesday’s close of 1,627.72.
The benchmark index, which opened 2.62 points lower at 1,625.10, moved between 1,617.14 and 1,625.61 during the morning trading session.
In the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 764 to 236, while 444 counters were unchanged, 1,399 untraded, and nine suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.83 billion units worth RM1.32 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that Wall Street declined overnight following hotter-than-expected inflation data for September, putting the US Federal Reserve (Fed) in a difficult position. “In addition, the tech sector is also reeling from selling in artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks amid concerns that some companies may be overleveraging themselves to ride the AI boom,” he said.
Thong added that while bargain hunting is expected to persist, any upside may be limited by profit-taking activities, as the index had gained 20 points over the past three days.
Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank added six sen to RM10.04, while IHH Healthcare rose four sen to RM8.05. Tenaga Nasional gained two sen to RM13.00, and Nestle advanced six sen to RM90.72. Gamuda went up three sen to RM4.88.
In active trade, Zetrix AI and Ecosys each added half a sen to six sen and 8.5 sen, respectively. Ni Hsin edged up one sen to 42.5 sen. However, VS Industry declined half a sen to 33.5 sen and Dagang Nexchange lost 2.5 sen to 44.5 sen.
Of the top gainers, Fraser & Neave and Southern Acids each jumped 16 sen to RM20.10 and RM3.18, respectively. Hong Leong Financial Group added 12 sen to RM17.76, while Analabs Resources and Kobay Technology each increased seven sen to RM1.77 and RM2.04, respectively.
Malaysian Pacific Industries led the top decliners, falling RM1.82 to RM40.18, while UMS Integration tumbled 77 sen to RM7.56. UWC Bhd fell 51 sen to RM7.22, and Kuala Lumpur Kepong declined 40 sen to RM20.90. Vitrox Corporation lost 32 sen to RM10.32.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index fell 216.63 points to 17,228.25, the FBM Emas Index lost 75.85 points to 12,066.74, and the FBM Top 100 Index dropped 68.75 points to 11,865.28.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index shrank 109.30 points to 11,996.05, and the FBM ACE Index slid 106.81 points to 5,448.44.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index gave up 3.56 points to 177.05, the Plantation Index cut 53.67 points to 8,843.30, and the Energy Index shed 5.35 points to 822.70. The Financial Services Index slipped 4.77 points to 18,819.65.
-- BERNAMA