Market Performance and Investor Sentiment
Kuala Lumpur: Bursa Malaysia ended the day slightly lower as investors maintained a cautious stance ahead of the US Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI), the benchmark index, closed marginally down due to sustained selling pressure in telecommunications, consumer, and plantation stocks. However, the losses were mitigated by strong support around the 1,610 level.
Thong Pak Leng, vice-president of equity research at Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, highlighted that the benchmark index remained well-supported above the 1,600-point threshold, indicating underlying resilience despite the cautious sentiment surrounding the crucial policy announcement.
Regionally, market performance was mixed. While there was noticeable buying interest in technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks, commodity-linked counters faced profit-taking.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI fell by 2.02 points, or 0.13%, to 1,611.54 from yesterday’s closing level of 1,613.56. The index opened 1.01 points higher at 1,614.57 and fluctuated between 1,606.44 and 1,617.02 throughout the trading session.
Market breadth was negative, with 546 losers outpacing 443 gainers. Additionally, 529 counters remained unchanged, 1,218 were untraded, and 77 were suspended.
Trading volume declined to 2.73 billion units worth RM2.37 billion, compared to 3.86 billion units valued at RM3.03 billion on the previous day.
Key Stock Movements
Among the major players, Tenaga Nasional increased by 8 sen to RM13.30. Meanwhile, Maybank and CIMB Group each dipped by 1 sen, closing at RM9.87 and RM7.38 respectively. Public Bank lost 2 sen to RM4.19, and IHH Healthcare decreased by 3 sen to RM8.25.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI fell by 2 sen to 81.5 sen, Perak Transit eased 1 sen to 38.5 sen, and Ekovest trimmed 2.5 sen to 35.5 sen. Tanco Holdings added 2 sen to 92.5 sen, while Borneo Oil remained flat at 0.5 sen.
Top gainers included Nestle, which surged by RM2.10 to RM109.20, Malayan Cement rose 33 sen to RM6.75, Chin Teck Plantations advanced 32 sen to RM11.32, United Plantations climbed 20 sen to RM24.28, and Dufu Technology gained 15 sen to RM1.88.
Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries dropped 50 sen to RM31.12, Bintulu Port Holdings declined 21 sen to RM5.05, Petronas Dagangan shed 16 sen to RM22.30, Ecomate Holdings slipped 11 sen to RM1.41, and Dutch Lady dipped 10 sen to RM26.20.
Index and Sector Performance
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 12.39 points to 12,053.70, the FBMT 100 Index slid 14.80 points to 11,792.56, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 12.43 points to 12,139.57, and the FBM 70 Index slipped 21.53 points to 17,161.99. Meanwhile, the FBM ACE Index soared 45.31 points to 5,225.56.
By sector, the financial services index sank 23.70 points to 18,169.60, and the plantation index declined 17.09 points to 7,961.99. On the other hand, the industrial products and services index added 1.22 points to 172.17, and the energy index perked up 1.94 points to 775.02.
Trading Volumes and Values
The Main Market volume dipped to 1.99 billion units valued at RM2.18 billion, down from 2.01 billion units valued at RM2.68 billion the previous day.
Warrants turnover tumbled to 352 million units worth RM31 million, compared to 1.34 billion units valued at RM152.13 million previously.
The ACE Market volume shrank to 368.17 million units valued at RM157.61 million, down from 502.65 million units valued at RM193.25 million the previous day.
Sector-wise Trading Activity
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 479.43 million shares traded on the Main Market, followed by industrial products and services (405.01 million), construction (141.07 million), technology (318.67 million), financial services (45.66 million), property (220.13 million), plantation (28.33 million), real estate investment trusts (24.99 million), closed-end fund (15,400), energy (102.83 million), healthcare (110.74 million), telecommunications and media (61.15 million), transportation and logistics (29.84 million), utilities (28.19 million), and business trusts (69,000).