KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia traded slightly lower at the midday break on Friday as investors turned cautious ahead of key US jobs data, while renewed geopolitical tensions kept market sentiment in check.

At the lunch break, the FBM KLCI was down 1.17 points, or 0.07%, at 1,735.98 after rebounding from its intra-morning low of 1,729.34.

Market breadth turned negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 647 to 376 as broad-based selling pressure weighed on sentiment. About 1.96 billion shares, valued at RM1.66bil, changed hands.

Among the top decliners, Batu Kawan fell 66 sen to RM20.74, Malaysian Pacific Industries

lost 42 sen to RM47.24, United Plantations shed 32 sen to RM33.88, and UMS Integration slipped 19 sen to RM7.56.

Leading the gainers, Nestlé rose 60 sen to RM101.90, Tong Herr added 49 sen to RM2.39, YTL Power advanced 29 sen to RM4.66, and Hong Leong Industries climbed 24 sen to RM17.92.

“We expect the FBM KLCI to trade cautiously on Friday as investors digest the recent tech-led pullback across regional markets while positioning ahead of the closely watched U.S. non-farm payrolls report later tonight,” Apex Securities said.

The brokerage cautioned that market sentiment may remain fragile after Iran published a draft proposal to bar U.S. and Israeli vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, contributing to a sharp rise in oil prices on Thursday.

Although Washington has rejected the proposed restrictions, the move has renewed geopolitical uncertainty at a time when markets had been anticipating a broader agreement as early as this week.

Apex Securities said technology and semiconductor-linked counters will be closely watched after the sharp reversal in regional peers, which could weigh on local sentiment following several sessions of outperformance.

The brokerage added that financial services and plantation counters may continue to face profit-taking after Thursday's declines. Meanwhile, the construction sector remains a relative bright spot, supported by a steady flow of data centre and infrastructure contracts.

Meanwhile, Malacca Securities expects the FBM KLCI to trade on a mixed footing.

The brokerage said higher crude oil prices, driven by supply disruptions in the Middle East, should continue to provide near-term trading catalysts for energy stocks such as Hibiscus Petroleum and Dayang Enterprise

.

However, technology counters are expected to remain resilient on strong fundamentals, with Pentamaster benefiting from AI-driven demand for automated test equipment and EG Industries

poised to capture rerouted optical module orders through its "China+1" expansion.