Bursa Malaysia Ends Lower As Banking, Data Centre Heavyweights Weigh On Sentiment
By Zufazlin Baharuddin
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower on Tuesday with the key index closing just above the psychological 1,600 level as selling pressure in banking and data-centre-related heavyweights weighed on market sentiment, said an analyst.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 12.51 points or 0.77 per cent to 1,604.07 from last Friday’s close of 1,616.58.
The benchmark index opened 9.97 points firmer at 1,626.55 and fluctuated between an intraday low of 1,595.26 and a high of 1,626.55 throughout the day.
Market breadth was negative, with losers thumping gainers 746 to 395, while 463 counters were unchanged, 1,169 untraded and 12 suspended.
Turnover fell to 2.79 billion units valued at RM2.77 billion compared with last Friday’s 3.64 billion units valued at RM3.49 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said concerns over hyperscaler financing and potential delays in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investments continued to weigh on YTL Power International Bhd and other related counters.
“We believe the weakness reflects a combination of stock-specific earnings concerns and uncertainty surrounding AI infrastructure investments rather than a broad deterioration in domestic fundamentals,” he told Bernama.
While the benchmark index could remain volatile, he opined that increasingly attractive valuations may encourage selective bargain hunting in fundamentally sound blue-chip stocks.
Despite today's correction, he remained cautiously optimistic as Malaysia's underlying economic fundamentals and corporate earnings prospects remain relatively resilient.
“We expect the FBM KLCI to trade within the 1,590–1,620 range this week, with its ability to hold above the key 1,600 level crucial to maintaining near-term market stability,” he added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank dropped six sen to RM10.06, Public Bank slid 22 sen to RM4.68, while CIMB rose two sen to RM7.08, Tenaga Nasional increased 14 sen to RM13.18, and IHH Healthcare gained four sen to RM7.74.
In active trade, Zetrix AI shed half a sen to six sen, GIIB Holdings tumbled 15 sen to 12 sen, and YTL Power International lost 32 sen to RM4.69, while Aizo Group edged up half a sen to seven sen, and Jaks Resources was flat at 11.5 sen.
As for the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries jumped RM1.48 to RM37.68, Nestle garnered RM1.64 to RM95.00, Allianz-PA put on 52 sen to RM20.60, and Sunway Construction went up 50 sen to RM8.36, and Westports Holdings climbed 26 sen to RM7.41.
Among the top losers, Hengyuan Refining decreased 30 sen to RM2.62, Vitrox Corp shrank 27 sen to RM9.85, Ta Ann Holdings sank 24 sen to RM5.41, Fraser & Neave Holdings erased 22 sen to RM22.00, and Mi Technovation gave up 17 sen to RM5.93.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dipped 72.50 points to 11,892.97, the FBM Top 100 Index fell 73.47 points to 11,724.98, the FBM Mid 70 Index reduced 30.95 points to 16,989.93, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 8.97 points to 11,813.79, and the FBM ACE Index shed 30.25 points to 5,209.99.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index trimmed 0.94 of a point to 170.41, the Energy Index slid 15.20 points to 779.66, the Financial Services Index slumped 213.28 points to 18,743.78, and the Plantation Index shrank 66.55 points to 8,659.81.
The Main Market volume declined to 1.57 billion units worth RM2.54 billion from 1.98 billion units worth RM3.17 billion last Friday.
Warrants turnover dwindled to 924.40 million units worth RM115.21 million from 1.21 billion units worth RM145.53 million previously.
The ACE Market volume tumbled to 292.05 million units valued at RM115.46 million from 444.10 million units valued at RM174.61 million on Friday.
Meanwhile, consumer products and services counters accounted for 288.35 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (322.26 million), construction (145.02 million), technology (294.90 million), financial services (85.79 million), property (92.15 million), plantation (28.46 million), real estate investment trusts (12.74 million), closed-end fund (194,900), energy (83.29 million), healthcare (70.08 million), telecommunications and media (35.70 million), transportation and logistics (45.48 million), utilities (70.39 million), and business trusts (14,500).
-- BERNAMA