Bursa Malaysia Ends Lower Amid Weaker Global Sentiment
By Abdul Hamid A Rahman
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 1 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower on Tuesday amid broad-based selling, as weaker global sentiment weighed on investor risk appetite.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 25.34 points, or 1.47 per cent, to 1,700.54, compared with last Friday’s close of 1,725.88.
The benchmark index opened 1.61 points higher at 1,727.49 and fluctuated between 1,697.83 and 1,729.17 throughout the day.
On the broader market, losers trounced gainers 956 to 349, while 443 counters were unchanged, 1,033 untraded and 24 suspended.
Turnover improved to 5.52 billion units valued at RM4.42 billion from 5.06 billion units valued at RM6.51 billion last Friday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said selling pressure was broad-based as investors turned cautious amid heightened external uncertainties.
“Regional markets were mostly lower as investors remained wary of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook and escalating tensions in West Asia,” he told Bernama.
On the domestic front, Thong said the current weakness was largely driven by heightened global volatility and uncertainty rather than any deterioration in domestic fundamentals.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell 12 sen to RM10.56, Public Bank eased four sen to RM4.91, CIMB Group slipped 11 sen to RM7.85, Tenaga Nasional declined 38 sen to RM13.76, and IHH Healthcare erased 10 sen to RM8.15.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI fell three sen to 26.5 sen, Excel Force MSC rose 4.5 sen to 13.5 sen, HHRG gained 2.5 sen to 15.5 sen, while Land & General and Tanco both edged down half a sen to 18.5 sen and 18 sen, respectively.
Among the top gainers, Hengyuan Refining surged 58 sen to RM2.53, Dutch Lady Milk Industries garnered 40 sen to RM31.78, BLD Plantation added 24 sen to RM15.00, Sarawak Oil Palms increased 21 sen to RM5.56, and Hong Leong Bank advanced 20 sen to RM23.70.
Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries fell RM1.30 to RM40.26, Nestle dipped 60 sen to RM99.50, Kelington Group dropped 36 sen to RM8.84, while RHB Bank and UWC lost 34 sen each to RM8.34 and RM6.56, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slid 159.62 points to 12,605.01, the FBMT 100 Index declined 161.01 points to 12,413.84, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 160.10 points to 12,391.98, the FBM 70 Index decreased 130.40 points to 17,916.49 and the FBM ACE Index tumbled 62.90 points to 5,186.48.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index jumped 11.46 points to 789.84 and the Plantation Index improved 5.62 points to 9,315.28, while the Financial Services Index shrank 205.00 points to 20,038.47 and the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 4.68 points to 184.59.
The Main Market volume expanded to 3.88 billion units valued at RM4.06 billion compared with 3.39 billion units valued at RM6.11 billion last Friday.
Warrants turnover rose to 1.03 billion units worth RM143.05 million versus 991.46 million units worth RM152.07 million previously.
The ACE Market volume decreased to 601.61 million units valued at RM210.03 million from 681.03 million units valued at RM245.54 million on Friday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 335.82 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (309.12 million), construction (145.87 million), technology (2.22 billion), financial services (140.48 million), property (246.00 million), plantation (55.53 million), real estate investment trusts (16.06 million), closed-end fund (456,400), energy (184.27 million), healthcare (82.42 million), telecommunications and media (43.74 million), transportation and logistics (41.33 million), utilities (57.49 million), and business trusts (53,300).
-- BERNAMA