Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower on July 7 as persistent selling in heavyweight stocks, particularly financial counters, dampened market sentiment.
The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 3.35 points, or 0.2%, to 1,680.18 at 12:30pm from its close of 1,683.53 during the previous session, after trading between 1,676.94 and 1,684.19.
Most key indices ended the morning in negative territory, with the FBM Emas easing 23.67 points to 12,449.05, the FBM 70 slipping 28.38 points to 17,777.26, the FBM Shariah declining 29.43 points to 12,258.19 and the F4GBM losing 1.79 points to 1,009.56.
Broader market sentiment was also negative, with losers outpacing gainers 480 to 321, while 557 counters were unchanged, 1,293 were untraded and 12 suspended.
Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd led the losers, falling 34 sen to RM32.06, followed by Heineken Malaysia Bhd, which shed 14 sen to RM19.30. PJBumi Bhd, SHL Consolidated Bhd and Mulpha International Bhd also featured among the top decliners.
On the upside, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd led the advancers as it climbed 66 sen to RM46.48, followed by Hong Leong Bank Bhd, which gained 18 sen to RM21.98, while United Plantations Bhd, Unisem (M) Bhd and Kee Ming Group Bhd rounded the top five gainers.
Turnover amounted to 1.57 billion shares valued at RM848.91 million.
Separately, trading activity remained concentrated in lower-priced stocks, with newly ACE Market debutant RNG Tech emerging the most actively traded with 79.49 million shares at 13 sen, followed by Zetrix AI Bhd and Tanco Holdings Bhd at 41.08 million shares and 37.79 million shares respectively. Other most actively traded counters include Asdion Bhd and Efficient E-Solutions Bhd with the volume of 28.22 million shares and 25.92 million shares respectively.
