Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower on May 13 as investors locked in gains in selected plantation and utility heavyweights, dragging the benchmark index into negative territory.
At 12:30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 6.67 points, or 0.38%, to 1,743.89 from its close of 1,750.56 on May 12.
Broader market indices also weakened, with the FBM Emas declining 36.82 points (0.28%) to 12,917.55, the FBM Shariah shedding 43.40 points (0.34%) to 12,830.90, and the FBM 70 slipping 16.02 (0.09%) points to 18,517.05. The F4GBM eased 3.17 points (0.3%) to 1,043.15.
Market breadth stayed negative, with losers beating gainers 529 to 421, while 545 counters were unchanged, 1,180 untraded and 13 suspended.
Among the key laggards, Tenaga Nasional Bhd slid 14 sen to RM14.64, while Malayan Banking Bhd declined four sen to RM11.20 and IHH Healthcare Bhd eased three sen to RM9.
Consumer and plantation-linked counters also weighed on sentiment, with Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd losing 22 sen to RM29.68 and Boustead Plantations Bhd dropping 20 sen to RM14.80.
On the upside, KLCC Property Holdings Bhd gained 22 sen to RM9.22, while UWC Bhd climbed 20 sen to RM5.93.
Trading activity remained active, with turnover reaching 2.39 billion shares worth RM1.44 billion. Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd emerged as the most actively traded stock with 87.74 million shares exchanged.
