Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower, weighed down by selling in heavyweight stocks, led by the financial services sector. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 9.76 points, or 0.57 percent, to 1,701.63 from Thursday's close of 1,711.39.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the key index opened 7.35 points weaker at 1,704.04 and fluctuated between 1,699.18 and 1,707.41 throughout the session. Market breadth was negative with decliners outnumbering gainers 512 to 339, while 467 counters were unchanged, 1,418 untraded and 34 suspended. Turnover stood at 1.53 billion units worth RM1.17 billion.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB) indicated that the FBM KLCI is expected to stay range-bound amid headline-driven volatility following the US-Iran agreement, which initiates a 60-day negotiation window toward a potential final peace agreement. Investors are also reassessing the implications of a more hawkish US Federal Reserve stance.
Among heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM11.16, Public Bank fell nine sen to RM4.91, Tenaga Nasional rose six sen to RM14.50, CIMB shed 15 sen to RM7.63, and IHH Healthcare added one sen to RM8.78.
In terms of active stocks, Dagang NeXchange increased 4.5 sen to 43 sen, while Top Glove and Vinvest slid one sen to 71 sen and four sen, respectively. Tanco eased half a sen to 14 sen, with Zetrix AI and Hong Seng remaining flat at 77 sen and one sen, respectively.
Among the top gainers were Malaysian Pacific Industries, which garnered 82 sen to RM49.38, United Plantations, which rose 74 sen to RM32.54, Fraser and Neave, which added 48 sen to RM28.36, and PPB, which was 30 sen firmer at RM9.60.
The top losers included BLD Plantation, which fell 60 sen to RM14.40, Petronas Chemicals, which slid 16 sen to RM4.42, Sunway Construction, which erased 13 sen to RM7.29, and Nestle, which was 12 sen weaker at RM95.02.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slipped 60.93 points to 12,602.32, while the FBM Top 100 Index slumped 63.25 points to 12,440.36. The FBM Emas Shariah Index sank 35.02 points to 12,454.69, and the FBM Mid 70 Index shrank 56.90 points to 18,033.90. The FBM ACE Index put on 6.56 points to 4,766.83.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gave up 140.20 points to 20,136.94. The Industrial Products and Services Index shed 1.56 points to 189.15, the Energy Index edged down 1.63 points to 760.79, while the Plantation Index rose 49.16 points to 8,816.61.