Bursa Malaysia remained in negative territory at midday trading as investors locked in recent gains amid a lack of fresh catalysts, with profit-taking weighing on sentiment across the broader market.
At 12:30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 7.03 points or 0.42% to 1,675.10, after moving between an intraday high of 1,685.17 and a low of 1,672.22.
Broader market indices also closed lower at midday, with the FBM Emas slipped 37.76 points or 0.3% to 12,436.90 and the F4GBM eased 3.21 points or 0.32% to 1,008.10. The FBM 70 bucked the overall weakness with a marginal gain of 12.82 points or 0.07% to 17,900.08.
Nevertheless, market breadth also turned negative as decliners outpaced gainers 513 to 399. A total of 461 counters were unchanged, while 1,378 were untraded and 40 suspended, underscoring cautious investor participation.
Selling pressure was concentrated in several index-linked and plantation-heavy counters. BLD Plantation Bhd fell 50 sen or 3.33% to RM14.50, while Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd dropped 43 sen or 5.19% to RM7.86 on heavy volume of 97,441 lots. United Plantations Bhd declined 38 sen or 1.13% to RM33.24, while Nestlé (M) Bhd eased 34 sen or 0.36% to RM95.32. Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd also slipped 28 sen or 1.29% to RM21.32.
Despite the weaker broader tone, several counters posted gains, led by Malaysia Pacific Industries Bhd, which rose RM1.12 or 2.39% to RM48. Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd advanced 48 sen or 1.75% to RM27.88, while UMS Integration Limited climbed 33 sen or 4.04% to RM8.50. Hong Leong Industries Bhd added 22 sen or 1.18% to RM18.94 and Vitrox Corporation Bhd gained 20 sen or 2.72% to RM7.55.
Trading activity remained elevated, with speculative and retail-driven interest concentrated in lower-priced counters. Zetrix AI Bhd was the most actively traded stock, rising one sen or 1.32% to 76.5 sen on 451,882 lots. AirAsia X Bhd slipped five sen or 3.85% to RM1.25 on 330,950 lots, while Dagang NeXchange was unchanged at 44 sen with 225,601 lots traded. Mestron Holdings Bhd fell one sen or 13.33% to 7.5 sen on 169,716 lots, while Bina Puri Holdings Bhd remained unchanged at 29.5 sen on 169,251 lots.
Overall, analysts said the midday session reflected cautious sentiment and profit-taking after recent gains, with investors remaining on the sidelines in the absence of fresh domestic or global catalysts. Near-term trading is expected to stay range-bound unless clearer market drivers emerge.
