KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed the morning session lower, tracking softer regional markets.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 4.66 points to 1,743.15, from Wednesday’s close of 1,747.81.
The benchmark had opened 1.62 points higher at 1,749.43 and fluctuated between 1,741.20 and 1,749.43 during the session.
Decliners led gainers 667 to 296 in the broader market, with 475 counters unchanged, 1,331 untraded, and 165 suspended.
Market turnover stood at 1.57 billion shares worth RM1.59 billion.
Regional markets traded lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 0.41 per cent to 26,656.29, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.79 per cent to 8,256.26, Singapore’s Straits Times Index declined 0.23 per cent to 4,996.02, and China’s Shanghai Composite Index eased 0.08 per cent to 4,144.08.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said overall market sentiment is expected to remain positive following the overnight rally on Wall Street and strong results from United States-based Nvidia.
“While markets have debated the sustainability of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure spending, we believe Nvidia is well-positioned for continued valuation expansion as it transitions from a hardware provider into a high-margin, multi-year AI growth cycle,” it said in a note.
Among heavyweights, Maybank slipped 12 sen to RM12.24, Public Bank rose five sen to RM5.00, while CIMB Group eased three sen to RM8.44. Tenaga Nasional fell eight sen to RM14.10, and IHH Healthcare was unchanged at RM9.00.
On the most active list, Aquawalk declined six sen to 30 sen, Tanco gained one sen to RM1.54, Nationgate dropped seven sen to 93.5 sen, Astro Malaysia added half a sen to eight sen, and Capital A fell 1.5 sen to 59 sen.
Top gainers included Sunway Construction, which rose 35 sen to RM7.25, Petronas Dagangan up 32 sen to RM22.28, Kelington advanced 23 sen to RM5.35, Malaysian Pacific Industries added 22 sen to RM32.22, and Sunway increased 15 sen to RM5.99.
Top losers included Nestle, which declined RM1.50 to RM109.00, Dutch Lady Milk Industries fell 68 sen to RM32.40, Telekom Malaysia eased 37 sen to RM7.38, Amway lost 26 sen to RM5.11, and Hong Leong Bank dropped 18 sen to RM23.86.
On the index board, the FBMT100 Index decreased 32.79 points to 12,611.38, the FBM Emas Index fell 36.72 points to 12,786.87, the FBM70 Index dropped 41.85 points to 17,727.23, the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 49.10 points to 12,295.67, and the FBM ACE Index slipped 19.82 points to 4,782.13.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 45.59 points to 21,585.54, the Plantation Index eased 35.51 points to 8,351.18, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.23 of-a-point to 175.19, and the Energy Index fell 7.37 points to 762.36.
-- BERNAMA
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