Bursa Malaysia ends morning session marginally lower
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session slightly lower today, weighed down by a lack of fresh catalysts and mirroring the trend of key regional indices.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 1.42 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 1,571.60 from Thursday's close of 1,573.02.
The benchmark index opened 2.58 points higher at 1,575.60 and thereafter fluctuated between 1,570.20 and 1,580.06 throughout the session.
The broader market was negative with 589 decliners outpacing 286 gainers, while 423 counters were unchanged, 1,098 untraded and eight suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.85 billion shares worth RM1.03 billion.
ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves said Asian equities underperformed today, as mixed economic data from the United States influenced market movements ahead of monthly options expiry.
"Traders are also closely monitoring developments on the tariff front, which could impact Asian markets," he said.
On the home front, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) announced that the Malaysian economy expanded by 4.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 (1Q 2025), driven by sustained household spending supported by favourable labour market conditions and government policies. The country's GDP stood at 4.2 per cent in 1Q 2024.
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose two sen to RM10.12, Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM14.20, IHH Healthcare fell two sen to RM7.01, while both Public Bank and CIMB eased one sen to RM4.50 and RM7.15 respectively.
For active stocks, West River added one sen to 36.5 sen, Sumisaujana, NexG and Pertama Digital all gained half a sen to 19.5 sen, 36.5 sen and 13 sen, respectively, while Ekovest lost 1.5 sen to 37.5 sen and Nationgate slipped four sen to RM1.68.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 37.47 points to 11,736.54, the FBMT 100 Index declined 32.29 points to 11,487.19, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 42.96 points to 11,675.66.
The FBM 70 Index slid 134.45 points to 16,676.73 and the FBM ACE Index fell by 27.47 points to 4,747.67.
Across sectors, the Financial Services Index declined 16.68 points to 18,453.81, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down by 0.12 of-a-point to 159.67, the Energy Index shed 9.78 points to 727.56, and the Plantation Index slipped 12.29 points to 7,375.81. - Bernama
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Confusing mix Concerns have also been raised about e-commerce platform features that aggregate reviews on similar items within the same product category from other listings across the site. Azrul Zafri says that the aggregated reviews might not even refer to the exact same product, potentially misleading buyers. 'When reviews from different sellers or product variants are lumped together, consumers may think they're looking at feedback for the exact item they're buying – when they're not. 'That creates confusion, especially if one seller has poor service or quality,' he says. Shoppers like Lee point out that reviews from other sellers are not indicative of how responsive or reliable a specific seller may be, while sellers like Fithry Akbar Ali feel that the feature is unfair, as it took them years to build a strong reputation, with newer sellers benefiting from the pool of existing reviews that they did not earn. 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38 minutes ago
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KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia trended lower in early trade today as investors turned wary amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, an analyst said. At 9.07am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 13.03 points, or 0.87 per cent to 1,489.71 from Friday's close of 1,502.74. The benchmark index opened 9.55 points lower at 1,493.19. The broader market was negative, with 479 decliners thumping 72 gainers, 217 counters were unchanged, while 1,664 were untraded and 39 suspended. Turnover stood at 246.13 million shares worth RM128 million. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed mixed on Friday due to uncertainty over interest rate cuts. At the same time, further escalation in the Middle East may weigh on market sentiment in the near term. "With the United States' involvement in the war against Iran last Saturday, it would be interesting to see the market's reaction today. "Given the possible heightened volatility, we expect the index to hover within the 1,480-1,500 range today and would be buyers of blue chips at the 1,480 level," he told Bernama. Among heavyweights, Maybank dropped seven sen to RM9.59, Public Bank fell three sen to RM4.18, CIMB and CelcomDigi were each four sen lower at RM6.61 and RM3.75, respectively, while Tenaga Nasional and IHH were flat at RM14.22 and RM6.85, respectively. Among the most active stocks, Hubline, SFP Tech and Malayan United all lost half-a-sen to four sen, 20.5 sen and five sen, respectively. MYEG slipped 1.5 sen to 89 sen, while Hibiscus Petroleum gained 10 sen to RM1.81. On the index board, the FBM Emas Index shaved 114.56 points to 11,114.43, the FBMT 100 Index shrank 112.98 points to 10,902.47, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 122.67 points to 11,078.67. The FBM 70 Index dipped 242.17 points to 15,875.58 and the FBM ACE Index dropped 52.87 points to 4,347.98. By sector, the Financial Services Index shed 105.37 points to 17,363.01, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.62 points to 145.65, and the Plantation Index narrowed 45.92 points to 7,174.60. However, the Energy Index rose 13.33 points to 749.04.
