KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower on profit-taking, bucking the regional trend which was mostly higher following China's latest economic data.

China’s factory activity data showed an expansion for a second month and this pinned hopes of recovery for the second-largest economy, dealers said.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 3.20 points to 1,579.46 from Monday’s close of 1,582.66. 

The benchmark index opened 0.92 of-a-point better at 1,583.58 and moved between 1,579.50 and 1,589.06 during the morning session. 

On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 538 to 411, while 462 counters were unchanged, 926 untraded and 74 others suspended. 

Turnover amounted to 2.42 billion units worth RM1.65 billion.

A dealer said Bursa Malaysia opened higher today but turned into negative territory at mid-morning to end the morning session lower on profit-taking.

Bursa Malaysia started the week strong yesterday, with the FBM KLCI finishing 0.48 per cent higher buoyed by continued positive momentum supported by buying interest in utilities and telecommunication stocks.

Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd opined that with most of the indices charging towards fresh 52-week highs, the overall sentiment is expected to remain positive with healthy buying interest across the board.

“Hence, we believe the traders might be playing catch up given the positive broader market, coupled with the KL20 summit catalyst, wherein Malaysia will be focusing on the technology ecosystem going forward," it added. 

Regionally, Asian shares advanced Tuesday, led by Japanese equities on China's positive economic data.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.03 per cent to 38,326.82, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.20 per cent to 17,782.30 and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.66 per cent to 2,705.23, Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.38 per cent to 3,294.39, while China's SSE Composite Index eased 0.12 per cent to 3,109.26.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank, CIMB and IHH Healthcare slid one sen each to RM9.74, RM6.60 and RM6.36 respectively, Public Bank shed two sen to RM4.16, while Tenaga Nasional rose four sen to RM11.96.

As for the actives, Classita Holdings edged up half-a-sen to 4.5 sen, MyEG gained two sen to 93 sen, Iconic Worldwide warrant added one sen to four sen, Iconic Worldwide bagged 2.5 sen to 10.5 sen, while main market debutant MKH Oil Palm eased half-a-sen to 61.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dipped 20.93 points to 11,880.08, the FBMT 100 Index shed 21.70 points to 11,513.56, the FBM 70 Index fell 24.47 points to 16,577.02, the FBM ACE Index slipped 15.70 points to 5,076.31, but the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 6.33 points to 12,090.81.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 41.84 points to 17,231.56, the Energy Index lost 7.57 points to 972.92, the Plantation Index shaved off 22.59 points to 7,436.68, but the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.26 of-a-point to 188.84.

-- BERNAMA