KUALA LUMPUR (May 6): Bursa Malaysia extended its losses to midday due to persistent profit-taking on selected heavyweights, led by technology and plantation stocks, a dealer said.

At lunch break on Friday (May 6), the FBM KLCI had contracted 7.70 points to 1,575.28 from Thursday’s close at 1,582.98.

The barometer index, which opened 8.83 points lower at 1,574.15, moved between 1,570.20 and 1,578.54 throughout the morning trading session.

On the broader market, losers surpassed gainers 728 to 215, while 310 counters were unchanged, 985 untraded and 16 others suspended.

Total turnover stood at 2.04 billion units worth RM1.11 billion.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd believes the market could be pricing in softer economy growth globally as China is still having lockdowns on and off in various regions.

“Given the violent sell-off on Wall Street overnight, we believe the technology sector may continue to struggle,” it said in a note on Friday.

Nevertheless, it said the elevated commodity prices should continue to support the relevant sectors such as energy and plantation.

“Besides, there might be bargain-hunting activities within the banking sector following the sell-off yesterday (Thursday) prior to Bank Negara Malaysia’s overnight policy rate decision next week,” it said.

Among Bursa heavyweights, Inari Amertron Bhd lost five sen to RM2.65, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd decreased 10 sen to RM5.17 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) declined 62 sen to RM28.28, while Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) added four sen to RM9.03 and Public Bank Bhd gained three sen to RM4.66.

Of the actives, both AT Systematization Bhd and PUC Bhd stayed at 1.5 sen and six sen respectively, XOX Bhd and TWL Holdings Bhd slid half a sen each to 1.5 sen and 7.5 sen respectively, while Techna-X Bhd recovered half a sen to 12.5 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM 70 contracted 158.44 points to 13,465.11, the FBM Emas Index shrank 73.89 points to 11,275.88, the FBMT 100 Index shed 70.85 points to 10,928.66, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slumped 130.19 points to 11,769.81 and the FBM ACE eased 118.73 points to 5,455.83.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 59.02 points to 16,770.35, while the Plantation Index dipped 148.22 points to 8,615.72, and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 2.92 points to 205.87.