by FARA AISYAH & RAHIMI YUNUS / Graphic by TMR

Bursa Malaysia was nearly flat at the midday break today as as investor worries over renewed slump in the Turkish lira.

At 12.30pm, the key FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.30 of-a-point or 0.02% to 1,783.64 from Tuesday’s close of 1,783.34.

The benchmark index moved between 1,778.20 and 1,785.54 during the morning session, after having opened 3.55 points lower at 1,779.79.

Market breadth was positive with 368 gainers against 359 losers, while 380 counters were unchanged and 776 others untraded.

Volume stood at 1.16 billion units valued at RM987.82 million.

Gainers were led by Vitrox Corp Bhd, which rose 30 sen to RM7.63, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd climbed 28 sen to RM35.06, Far East Holdings Bhd added 17 sen to RM3.38, Lingkaran Trans Holdings Kota Holdings Bhd up 15 sen to RM4.71 and Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd pushed 12 sen to RM3.58.

Losers were led by Ayer Holdings Bhd, which fell 30 sen to RM5.30, KESM Industries Bhd declined 20 sen to RM17.30, Petronas Gas Bhd slipped 18 sen to RM18.58, MISC Bhd down 14 sen to RM6.00 and MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd slid 10 sen to RM3.70.

Asian markets were in red across the board as negative sentiment has lingered on Turkey’s lira crisis.

Singapore’s STI slipped 5.71 points to 3,239.63, Shanghai Composite down 14.06 points to 2771.80 and Hang Seng  Index was 249.58 points lower at 27,686.99

Jakarta Composite also dipped by 20.94 points to 5,840.29.

In contrast, Japan’s Nikkei 225 improved by down 401.73 points to 22,259.16. 

US markets were downwards as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 125.44 points at 25,187.70 and the S&P 500 fell 11.35 points to 2,821.93.