KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower, dragged down by profit-taking in several heavyweight counters, particularly within the industrial products, banking, and utility sectors.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 9.95 points or 0.67 per cent to 1,476.48 from Tuesday’s close of 1,486.43.
The benchmark index opened slightly higher at 1,486.45, before moving between 1,473.36 and 1,487.50 during the session.
In the broader market, decliners surpassed gainers 463 to 260, with 364 counters unchanged, 1,311 untraded and nine suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.96 billion shares worth RM758.72 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said despite the sell-off in the local technology Index following the United States’ (US) probe into semiconductor imports, it believes that software-related stocks will remain relatively insulated from tariff-related pressures.
“This could present bargain-hunting opportunities in cybersecurity counters such as Cloudpoint Technology Bhd and LGMS Bhd, both also benefiting from the growing wave of data centre investments in the country.
“In addition, national utility provider Tenaga Nasional Bhd, which recently secured a RM705 million maintenance contract from the Kuwaiti government, is expected to continue riding the momentum from data centre and renewable energy investments domestically,” the stockbroking firm added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank lost 7.0 sen to RM9.87, CIMB Group slipped 6.0 sen to RM6.64, Tenaga Nasional and Public Bank declined 4.0 sen to RM13.40 and RM4.27, respectively, while IHH Healthcare eased by 1.0 sen to RM6.80.
As for the actives, Revenue Group increased half-a-sen to 9.5 sen, and Iskandar Waterfront climbed 2.0 sen to 39.5 sen. Dataprep Holdings dipped half-a-sen to 15 sen, and My E.G. Services slipped 1.0 sen to 91.5 sen, while Pertama Digital was flat at 13 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 71.80 points to 10,967.41, the FBMT 100 Index fell 74.45 points to 10,749.19, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 62.90 points to 10,790.80, the FBM 70 Index slipped 115.04 points to 15,435.24, and the FBM ACE Index decreased 33.78 points to 4,503.98.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index tumbled 128.39 points to 17,698.98, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.71 points to 143.57, the Energy Index shed 4.70 points to 650.18, and the Plantation Index fell 28.11 points to 7,177.78.
-- BERNAMA
