BURSA Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower, in tandem with the downtrend on regional bourses, taking the cue from Wall Street’s downward movement overnight, a dealer said.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 6.74 points or 0.47% to 1,432.42 from Thursday’s close of 1,439.16.

The benchmark index opened 0.05 of-a-point easier at 1,439.11, subsequently moving between 1,431.44 and 1,440.29 throughout the session. 

On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 430 to 244, while 343 counters were unchanged, 1,381 untraded and nine others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1 billion units worth RM689.69 million. 

The dealer said the local bourse opened marginally lower and continued its downtrend throughout the session as investors remained concerned over the global economic health following central banks’ rate hikes.

Swiss National Bank and the Bank of England had increased their interest rates by 75 basis points (bps) and 50bps respectively, following the recent rate hike by the US Federal Reserve (Fed), he said. 

ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves said Asian equities were in a defensive mode on Friday after another negative session on Wall Street, with the US Treasuries’ curve getting steeper due to a sell-off on rates in reaction to the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) decision.

On the geopolitical front, the Russia-Ukraine crisis continued to stoke caution in the market after Russia’s Security Council deputy chairman, Dmitry Medvedev said that Russian weapons, including nuclear, could be used to defend territories in Russia. 

“For the session ahead, traders are now looking to Fed chair Jerome Powell’s remarks, with all eyes on any other unscheduled Fed speakers post-FOMC for any pushback or support for the market’s hawkish reaction after Wednesday’s meeting,” he added.

Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.58% to 27,153.83, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.85% to 17,994.29, Singapore’s Straits Times Index was 0.83% lower at 3,235.91, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 1.97% to 2,286.43 and Shanghai’s SSE index fell 1.08% to 3,075.33.

Back home, Bursa heavyweights Public Bank Bhd shed three sen to RM4.36, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd fell 12 sen to RM8.38 and IHH Healthcare Bhd dropped 13 sen to RM5.87.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd improved by one sen to RM5.39, while Malayan Banking Bhd was flat at RM8.71.

Of the actives, Top Glove Corp Bhd improved two sen to 65 sen, Cypark Resources Bhd added 2.5 sen to 45 sen and NWP Holdings Bhd edged up half-a-sen to 25 sen.

TA Win Holdings Bhd warrants eased half-a-sen to 1.5 sen, while Sapura Energy Bhd was flat at four sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 44.47 points to 10,249.08, the FBM 70 lost 62.68 points to 12,491.62, the FBM T100 Index declined 47.72 points to 9,984.53, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 56.43 points to 10,301.79 and the FBM ACE gave up 55.82 points to 4,762.83.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index was 1.58 points easier at 718.29, the Plantation Index shrank 49.18 points to 6,795.51, the Financial Services Index shed 27.6 points to 16,306.85 and the Industrial Products and Services Index trimmed 1.23 points to 173.01. — Bernama / Pic by TMRFILE