Bursa Malaysia extended its decline at midday of Sept 11, tracking weaker regional markets as surging oil prices and ongoing US-Iran tensions pressured heavyweight counters.
At 12.30 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 17.18 points, or 1%, to 1,688.34 from its morning opening of 1,705.29, after trading between 1,687.44 and 1,705.69.
The broader market was similarly weaker, the FBM 70 dropped 143.90 points, or 0.8%, to 17,756.70, while the F4GBM slid 10.08 points, or 0.98%, to 1,015.38. The FBM Emas declined 114.41 points, or 0.91%, to 12,524.74, while the FBM Shariah lost 105.56 points, or 0.84%, to 12,397.14.
Market breadth remained firmly negative, with 744 decliners outpacing 336 gainers. Another 417 counters were unchanged, 1,334 untraded and 32 suspended.
Among the biggest losers, Allianz Malaysia Bhd fell 40 sen to RM21.28, Sunway Construction Group Bhd dropped 33 sen to RM7.58 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd declined 32 sen to RM22.42. Hong Leong Bank Bhd slipped 30 sen to RM23.30, while IHH Healthcare Bhd lost 29 sen to RM7.60.
Energy-linked counters bucked the weaker market, with Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd leading the gainers, rising 24 sen to RM5.06, followed by Hengyuan Refining Co Bhd up 13 sen to RM3.52. Concrete Engineering Products Bhd gained 12 sen to RM4, Eurospan Holdings Bhd advanced 10 sen to RM3.07 and Hartalega Holdings Bhd climbed eight sen to RM1.19.
On the other hand, Top Glove Corporation Bhd was the most actively traded counter, gaining four sen to 80.5 sen on volume of about 143.65 million shares, followed by Zetrix AI Bhd, which edged up half a sen to 25.5 sen on 114.1 million shares, while Luster Industries Bhd was unchanged at 3.5 sen on 53.48 million shares. Supermax Corporation Bhd was flat at 43 sen on 51.16 million shares, while Hartalega rose eight sen to RM1.19 on 32.73 million shares.
Total market turnover stood at 2.22 billion shares worth RM1.58 billion by the midday break.
