BURSA MALAYSIA ENDS MORNING SESSION LOWER

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower, tracking the weaker Wall Street performance overnight amid concerns over global oil and gas supplies and inflation risks as the Middle East crisis continues.   

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 9.56 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 1,702.39, from Tuesday’s close of 1,711.95.

The benchmark index opened 0.52 of a point weaker at 1,711.43 and fluctuated between 1,700.91 and 1,713.19 during the session.

Decliners led gainers 795 to 233, while 439 counters were unchanged, 1,155 untraded, and 10 suspended.

Market turnover stood at 1.86 billion shares valued at RM1.55 billion.

Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) said that with energy costs rising, inflation risks resurfacing, and key trade routes under threat, investors are navigating an increasingly fragile macro backdrop as Middle East tensions intensify.

The investment bank said US President Donald Trump had indicated the military campaign could extend four to five weeks. Still, a conflict lasting beyond that timeframe would heighten the risk of sustained economic strain through elevated oil prices, firmer inflation, and tighter financial conditions.

“Against this fluid geopolitical landscape, particularly on the scale and duration of the evolving Middle East tensions, we prefer to stay defensively positioned in domestic-centric sectors with relatively resilient earnings visibility,” HLIB said in a note today. 

Among the heavyweights, IHH Healthcare gained three sen to RM9, Press Metal added four sen to RM7.38, and Maybank fell 14 sen to RM11.70. Public Bank eased four sen to RM4.85, and CIMB shed seven sen to RM7.95.

On the most active list, Hengyuan Refining Company surged 17 sen to RM1.52, Alam Maritim climbed half a sen to 25.5 sen, and Hibiscus Petroleum added three sen to RM2. Perdana Petroleum was flat at 17.5 sen, and Bumi Armada dipped one sen to 37 sen. 

Among the top gainers, Nestle gained 70 sen to RM108.20, PPB added 36 sen to RM10.96, and United Plantations grew 20 sen to RM29.80. Malaysian Pacific Industries went up 18 sen to RM30.60.

As for the top losers, BLD Plantation tumbled 68 sen to RM14.62, Hong Leong Bank slipped 48 sen to RM22.92, and Vitrox dived 27 sen to RM4.22, while Hong Leong Industries and Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 22 sen each to RM17.28 and RM18.68, respectively. 

On the index board, the FBMT100 Index lost 77.64 points to 12,299.23, the FBM Emas Index went down 83.72 points to 12,468.70, and the FBM70 Index slipped 147.23 points to 17,210.78.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 48.98 points to 12,122.86, and the FBM ACE Index shrank 102.56 points to 4,513.20.   

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dipped 212.10 points to 20,791.44, the Plantation Index eased 27.80 points to 8,149.27, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.55 of-a-point to 171.66, and the Energy Index shrank 5.54 points to 796.57. 

-- BERNAMA