KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower on Thursday with the benchmark index below the 1,520-mark amid weak sentiment.      

At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 4.67 points to finish at 1,517.60 from 1,522.27 yesterday. 

The index opened 1.95 points weaker at 1,520.32 and moved between 1,515.43 and 1,523.16 throughout the day.

On the broader market, decliners trounced gainers 712 to 302, while 402 counters were unchanged, 925 untraded and 44 others suspended.

Turnover increased to 3.81 billion units worth RM2.42 billion from Wednesday's 3.04 billion units worth RM2.09 billion.

A dealer said bargain-hunting would emerge as valuations on Bursa Malaysia were still cheaper than regional peers.

He expects the benchmark index FBM KLCI to trend between 1,520 and 1,525 towards the weekend.

Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals jumped 10 sen to RM8.44, Hong Leong Bank rose four sen to RM18.32, Axiata gained three sen to RM4.00, Maxis was flat at RM4.59, Maybank eased one sen to RM8.11, Public Bank shed five sen to RM4.02 and IHH Healthcare slipped two sen to RM6.67.    

Of the actives, Green Ocean edged up half-a-sen to four sen, V.S. Industry surged 12 sen to RM1.54, Vsolar was flat at 1.5 sen, Fintec and G3 Global edged down half-a-sen each to 1.5 sen and 13 sen respectively, while ATA IMS lost 35 sen to 82 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM 70 went up 4.41 points to 14,635.47, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 23.91 points to 10,825.37, the FBM Emas Index dipped 33.58 points to 11,159.57, the FBM Emas Shariah Index weakened 28.36 points to 12,107.81, while the FBM ACE contracted 99.01 points to 6,652.30. 

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.19 of-a-point to 199.39,  the Financial Services Index was 40.20 points lower at 15,229.52, and the Plantation Index reduced 22.13 points to 6,579.18.  

The Main Market volume went up to 2.35 billion shares worth RM2.13 billion against Wednesday's 1.96 billion shares worth RM1.79 billion.  

Warrants turnover fell to 258.24 million units worth RM36.88 million from 343.07 million units worth RM76.05 million yesterday. 

The volume on the ACE Market expanded to 1.20 billion shares valued at RM247.51 million from 716.62 million shares valued at RM226.51 million on Wednesday. 

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 445.02 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (996.65 million), construction (92.89 million), technology (279.02 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (42.05 million), property (137.63 million), plantation (23.95 million), REITs (11.99 million), closed/fund (149,900), energy (135.39 million), healthcare (50.28 million), telecommunications and media (49.56 million), transportation and logistics (65.18 million), and utilities (20.89 million).

-- BERNAMA