KUALA LUMPUR (April 19): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower on Wednesday (April 19), weighed down by persistent selling pressure, ahead of the long break for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration, a dealer said. 

The FBM KLCI opened 0.79 point weaker at 1,431.57, its highest so far in the day, and subsequently moved to a low of 1,425.24.

At 12.30pm, the barometer index had pared its loss, but was still down by 5.72 points at 1,426.64, from Tuesday's close at 1,432.36.

Market breadth was negative, as decliners led gainers 493 to 226, while 350 counters were unchanged, 1,229 untraded, and 11 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.83 billion units worth RM872.74 million.

In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the local bourse may see further consolidation during the earnings season, as the corporate results may be impacted by the state of affairs in terms of interest rate hikes.

“We believe the mixed sentiment may persist on the local front, as traders may be on the sidelines ahead of the special holiday on Friday," it said, adding that investors are likely to favour telecommunications, utilities and consumer stocks.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) shed one sen to RM8.69 a share, Public Bank Bhd slid two sen to RM3.96, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd declined 14 sen to RM7.26, CelcomDigi Bhd lost three sen to RM4.43, and IHH Healthcare Bhd trimmed five sen to RM5.83. 

As for the active counters, Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd remained unchanged at 13 sen, Pharmaniaga Bhd gained 4.5 sen to 42 sen, Salutica Bhd fell 43 sen to RM1.22, SNS Network Technology Bhd decreased one sen to 27 sen, and MyEG Services Bhd eased 1.5 sen to 82.5 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 51.45 points to 10,489.03, the FBMT 100 Index lost 49.89 points to 10,172.31, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 63.64 points to 10,826.25.

The FBM ACE Index was 38.44 points lower at 5,351.27, and the FBM 70 index slipped 104.79 points to 13,712.28.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index reduced by 1.78 points to 172.61, and the Plantation Index contracted by 17.76 points to 6,866.88.

The Financial Services Index declined 38.26 points to 15,693.21, and the Energy Index fell 5.40 points to 861.79.