KUALA LUMPUR (April 10): The FBM KLCI fell 11.35 points or 0.83% at the midday break today as investors awaited the prime minister’s televised national address later today, possibly on the government’s decision regarding the movement control order (MCO).

At 12.30pm, the benchmark index was down at 1,358.41 points. The FBM KLCI has remained in the negative territory since it opened at 1,361.62 points today.

Among the blue chips, the biggest laggard was Maxis Bhd, followed by Digi.com Bhd and Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd.

Maxis was down 10 sen or 1.89% at RM5.20, while Digi declined eight sen or 1.77% to RM4.44. Press Metal slid six sen or 1.62% to RM3.65.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com that the FBM KLCI staged a pullback today as investors are anticipating a possible MCO extension and should the aforementioned event take place, business activities may face longer disruption which may potentially weigh down economic growth.

“At the same time, the sharp decline in crude oil prices overnight also attributed to the weakness across the board as investors remain sceptical whether the Saudi Arabian and Russian efforts to reach a consensus to cut production may alleviate the overhang phenomenon,” he added.

At the time of writing, Brent crude futures retreated 4.14% to US$31.48 per barrel. The Bursa Malaysia Energy Index was the biggest loser among all indices across Bursa Malaysia, retreating 2.61% to 715.41 points.

In comparison, the only sector index that remained positive was Bursa Malaysia Healthcare Index.

Nevertheless, Leong opined that the pullback is a healthy move to allow investors to digest the recent rebound as markets are at the overbought level. “As long as the FBM KLCI maintains its stance above the 1,320 level, the key index may see further recovery towards the 1,400 level. The support is located at 1,300,” said Leong.

At the noon break, Bursa Malaysia saw 2.18 billion shares, worth RM826.28 million, traded. Losers led gainers by 598 to 139, while 297 counters remained unchanged.

On the broader market, KESM Industries Bhd was the biggest loser and it was down 26 sen or 3.13% at RM8.04, followed by Hong Leong Industries Bhd (-2.61%) and Nestle (M) Bhd (-0.15%).

Across Asia, at the time of writing, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.53%, South Korea's Kospi grew 0.67% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.38%.