BROAD SELLING DRAGS KLCI LOWER AT MIDDAY

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- Local shares ended the morning trading session lower, weighed down by broad-based selling across heavyweight counters, mirroring declines in regional markets.

At 12.30 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 8.43 points to 1,742.42 from Thursday’s close of 1,750.85.

The index opened 2.96 points lower at 1,747.89 and moved between 1,741.57 and 1,751.38 during the session.

Market breadth was negative with 637 losers surpassing 299 gainers, while 494 counters were unchanged, 1,307 untraded, and 11 suspended.

Turnover totalled 1.29 billion units valued at RM1.12 billion.

Most key regional indices were lower at midday, with the Hang Seng Index sliding 1.64 per cent to 26,590.19, Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.69 per cent to 57,244.40, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index declining 1.33 per cent to 4,949.96, while South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index rose 0.83 per cent to 5,567.83.

In a research note, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said that the key index is poised to extend its range-bound consolidation, with resistance near 1,771, as cautious positioning dominates ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays and February results season, while also tracking the Wall Street decline overnight.

“Meanwhile, lingering global volatility and elevated risk aversion continue to temper sentiment, while Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide win heightens regional geopolitical risk by limiting prospects for softer China–Japan ties and reinforcing Japan’s hawkish security alignment with the US and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue,” it said.

Among heavyweights, Maybank dropped eight sen to RM12.06, Public Bank was nine sen easier at RM5.04, CIMB reduced five sen to RM8.48 and Tenaga Nasional erased six sen to RM13.98, while IHH earned nine sen to RM8.82.

On the most active list, Zen Tech erased half-a-sen to half-a-sen, main market debutant Hock Soon lost 6.5 sen to 53.5 sen and Zetrix trimmed 1.5 sen to 80.5 sen, while MAG added one sen to 17.5 sen and Tanco accumulated three sen to RM1.41.

As for the leading decliners, BLD Plantation fell 50 sen to RM14.80, Malaysian Pacific Industries reduced 38 sen to RM30.62, Hong Leong Bank erased 28 sen to RM24.42 and Hong Leong Financial shed 26 sen to RM22.42. 

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index decreased 50.75 points to 12,580.14, the FBM Emas Index reduced 52.14 points to 12,753.30, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 26.18 points to 12,235.46, the FBM Mid 70 Index lost 25.27 points to 17,566.34, and the FBM ACE Index dropped 24.36 points to 4,750.77.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index trimmed 178.17 points to 21,584.70, the Industrial Products and Services Index fell 0.80 of-a-point to 175.93, and the Energy Index fell 3.87 points to 747.08, while the Plantation Index added 23.54 points to 8,378.57.

-- BERNAMA