KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session on a bearish note on Monday (Feb 27), in sync with the weakness seen in regional and US equities, as investors braced for the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to maintain its high-interest regime for longer than anticipated.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI had lost 3.14 points to 1,453.66, from last Friday’s closing at 1,456.80. 

The index opened 0.76 of a point lower at 1,456.04.

On the broader market, decliners led advancers 513 to 275, while 366 counters were unchanged, 1,087 untraded, and 70 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.76 billion units worth RM1.02 billion.  

Public Investment Bank Bhd said the performance of the market in the coming days may be clouded by reports of the US personal consumption expenditure (rising for the first time in four months), despite the retabled Budget 2023’s impact being mildly positive on the market.

The index is the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, and sparked concern that the US central bank may resume its path of aggressive monetary tightening.

The government is allocating RM388.1 billion under the revised Budget 2023, with RM289.1 billion for administrative expenses and RM99 billion for development expenses.

Despite the massive spending, the government is committed to achieving a sustainable fiscal deficit level in the medium term with a target of 3.2% of gross domestic product by 2025.

Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd fell one sen to RM7.19, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd lost 12 sen to RM5.08, and Tenaga Nasional Bhd weakened by 13 sen to RM9.59.

IHH Healthcare Bhd was 11 sen lower at RM5.81, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) was 24 sen weaker at RM20.90, and Petronas Dagangan Bhd declined 22 sen to RM22.08.

As for active stocks, Borneo Oil Bhd was at 2.0 sen,  Zen Tech International Bhd added half a sen to 3.0 sen, and MyEG Services Bhd was down two sen to 71.5 sen.

 On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gave up 28.08 points to 10,598.36, the FBMT 100 Index dwindled 25.37 points to 10,272.45, the FBM ACE Index lost 66.61 points to 5,493.44, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went down 66.91 points to 10,863.68, and the FBM 70 Index contracted 46.92 points to 13,458.29.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 70.53 points to 16,092.36, the Energy Index fell 5.24 points to 885.60, the Plantation Index decreased 54.68 points to 6,737.65, and the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.65 points to 178.01.