KL shares lower at midday

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia were broadly lower at the end of the morning session today, dealers said.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 8.35 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 1,549.82. It had opened 2.45 points easier at 1,555.72.

Most of the 30 counters in the key benchmark index were traded lower, led by PPB Group, which fell 26 sen to RM17.24.

Only Petronas Dagangan and Genting posted gains, up two sen each to RM17.84 and RM10.66 respectively.

Dealers said the market moved in line with other regional bourses after US equity indexes overnight plunged between 1.6 per cent and 2.6 per cent, as the federal debt ceiling impasse was still unresolved.

HwangDBS Vickers Research said it expected the FBM KLCI to retreat further, possibly testing its immediate support line of 1,550.

"Given the bearish underlying market tone, and couple with the thin news flows on the corporate scene, investors may not be in the mood to buy equities now," it said.

Market breadth was negative with 482 losers against 162 gainers.
Volume stood at 563.93 million shares valued at RM760.63 million.

Among active stocks, Hubline fell one sen to 9.5 sen, Wijaya Baru GlobalBhd-Wa lost two sen to 17 sen and Ingenuity Solutions Bhd was flat at 6.5 sen.

For heavyweights, Maybank fell three sen to RM8.81, CIMB dropped seven sen to RM8.32 and Petronas Chemical declined eight sen to RM6.84. -- Bernama