Bursa Malaysia ends lower in line with regional markets

KUALA LUMPUR — Bursa Malaysia ended lower on Monday, mirroring the lacklustre performance across Asia as weak Chinese economic data and the recent downgrade of the United States’ sovereign credit rating weighed on regional market sentiment.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 15.61 points, or 0.99 per cent, to 1,556.14 from Friday’s close of 1,571.75.

The benchmark index opened 5.18 points lower at 1,566.57 and fluctuated between 1,550.93 and 1,566.57 throughout the trading session.

In the broader market, losers thumped gainers 889 to 216, while 384 counters were unchanged, 906 untraded and 17 suspended.

Turnover increased to 3.71 billion units worth RM2.27 billion versus last Friday’s 2.91 billion units worth RM2.16 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng believed the selldown offers an opportunity to bargain hunt stocks at lower levels.

“We reckon it is time to accumulate blue chips with strong dividend yields, such as banks and utilities, for a better defensive approach. As such, we anticipate the benchmark index will trend within the range of 1,550-1,580 for the week,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd’s head of investment research, Mohd Sedek Jantan, said despite the selling pressure, trading activity remained robust.

He noted that trading volume reached 3.7 billion shares, slightly above the average, suggesting that underlying market participation remains healthy despite the broader risk-off tone.

“We remain cautiously optimistic. While near-term risks persist, we view today’s sell-off as temporary. The pullback may present a tactical buying opportunity for bargain hunters, particularly in fundamentally sound sectors that have been indiscriminately sold down.

“Malaysia’s solid external fundamentals and sustained foreign direct investment flows continue to provide an anchor of stability amid broader volatility,” Mohd Sedek told Bernama.

Among heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM10.14, Public Bank eased one sen to RM4.49, TNB shed 10 sen to RM14.10, CIMB fell by 8.0 sen to RM7.10, CIMB was 8.0 sen lower at RM7.10 and IHH Healthcare lost 2.0 sen to RM6.99.

For active stocks, NexG and Harvest Miracle were flat at 37.5 sen and 18 sen, respectively. SFP Tech trimmed 2.5 sen to 23 sen, Nationgate fell by 8.0 sen to RM1.61, Tanco slipped half-a-sen to 94 sen, and MYEG shed 2.5 sen to 89.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 152.70 points to 11,593.34, the FBMT 100 Index slid 141.88 points to 11,350.82, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 186.19 points to 11,487.99.

The FBM 70 Index lost 316.70 points to 16,385.71, and the FBM ACE Index was 118.92 points easier at 4,646.94.

Across sectors, the Financial Services Index gave up 128.65 points to 18,359.0, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased by 3.18 points to 156.50, the Energy Index shed 21.88 points to 707.50, and the Plantation Index slipped 59.50 points to 7,326.09.

The Main Market volume increased to 1.46 billion units valued at RM1.92 billion versus 1.40 billion units valued at RM1.90 billion last Friday.

Warrants turnover widened to 1.81 billion units worth RM1.92 billion from 1.09 billion units worth RM134.46 million previously.

The ACE Market volume rose to 443.55 million units worth RM139.15 million from 415.63 million units valued at RM123.51 million.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 229.55 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (280.98 million), construction (95.28 million), technology (251.63 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (62.22 million), property (190.16 million), plantation (17.54 million), REITs (11.09 million), closed/fund (9,500), energy (126.91 million), healthcare (57.96 million), telecommunications and media (50.32 million), transportation and logistics (37.0 million), utilities (53.0 million), and business trusts (23,100). — BERNAMA