Late selling drags Bursa to intraday low ahead of 13MP
Apart from that, investors are awaiting fresh catalysts from the outcome of the US federal open market committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled on July 29-30, amid ongoing US-China trade talks in Stockholm.
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd's head of investment research Sedek Jantan said investors appear to be positioning their portfolios/strategies ahead of potential domestic fiscal support, especially if external trade conditions deteriorate.
'The 13MP, to be unveiled in Parliament on Thursday under the Madani framework, will reinforce the government's pro-growth trajectory, with a strong emphasis on infrastructure and industrial development,' he told Bernama.
Sedek said the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed lower today as sentiment turned increasingly cautious ahead of key global policy events.
He said market focus is now on the FOMC meeting as it is expected that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will leave rates unchanged, and the committee's forward guidance will be more closely scrutinised.
'In light of reduced tariff uncertainty from recent trade deals, Fed chairman Jerome Powell may choose to maintain flexibility for a September move.
'Markets appear to be pricing in this optionality, while remaining highly sensitive to the interplay between global policy risk and domestic macroeconomic resilience,' he said.
He further noted that the positive signals from the US-China trade talks in Stockholm further buoyed market sentiment.
'The meeting between US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng, which focussed on addressing global economic imbalances, was seen as a constructive step ahead of the Aug 1 tariff deadline, helping to reduce geopolitical risk premiums.
'As such, investor reaction remains more measured, perhaps reflecting increased confidence in diplomatic engagement or reduced expectations of immediate escalation,' he noted.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng anticipates the local index to remain cautious as underlying sentiment continues to be weighed down by external uncertainties and inconsistent fund flows.
'With lingering concerns over global trade developments, monetary policy shifts, and foreign fund outflows, the broader outlook remains fragile.
'As such, we maintain our weekly FBM KLCI target at 1,510-1,540,' said Thong.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI fell 5.56 points, or 0.36%, to close at 1,523.82 from yesterday's close of 1,529.38.
The benchmark index opened 0.20 of-a-point firmer at 1,529.58 and subsequently hit its highest level of 1,537.62 in early trade before trending downward for the rest of the day.
In the broader market, losers led gainers 603 to 365, while 506 counters were unchanged, 1,047 untraded and 44 suspended.
Turnover improved to 3.36 billion units worth RM2.18 billion from 3 billion shares worth RM2.3 billion yesterday.
Heavyweights Maybank lost two sen to RM9.52, Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional fell four sen each to RM4.21 and RM13.32, respectively, CIMB slipped 11 sen to RM6.64, and IHH Healthcare decreased six sen to RM6.60.
Among the most active stocks, ACE debutant Oxford Innotech gained 9.5 sen to 38.5 sen, Zetrix AI climbed one sen to 84.5 sen, NexG was flat at 53 sen, while Focus Dynamics eased 0.5 sen to 0.5 sen and Ekovest shed 3.5 sen to 40.5 sen.
Among top gainers and decliners, Allianz Malaysia added 40 sen to RM17.70, Petronas Dagangan advanced 26 sen to RM21.70, and Petronas Chemicals garnered 18 sen to RM3.79.
Top losers were Panasonic Manufacturing, which slid 36 sen to RM10.52, while Kuala Lumpur Kepong trimmed 28 sen to RM19.52.
Across the broader market, the FBM Emas Index dropped 32.07 points to 11,440.13, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 30.92 points to 11,201.53, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 11.95 points to 11,478.09.
The FBM 70 Index eased 2.20 points to 16,528.21 and the FBM ACE Index fell 9.98 points to 4,626.62.
By sector, the industrial products and services index inched up 1.99 points to 159.38, the energy index edged up 2.93 points to 743.72, while the financial services index tumbled 99.03 points to 17,309.34, and the plantation index sank 68.20 points to 7,395.03.
The Main Market volume declined to 1.48 billion units valued at RM1.87 billion from 1.67 billion units valued at RM2.03 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover climbed to 1.1 billion units worth RM183.9 million from 1.01 billion units worth RM161.01 million previously.
The ACE Market volume surged to 772.91 million units worth RM121.4 million from 323.13 million units worth RM106.95 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 213.86 million shares traded on the Main Market; industrial products and services (240.5 million), construction (165.43 million), technology (252.46 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (69.21 million), property (156.13 million), plantation (12.33 million), REITs (28.54 million), closed-end fund (1,000), energy (95.71 million), healthcare (134.24 million), telecommunications and media (30.26 million), transportation and logistics (44.63 million), utilities (40.6 million), and business trusts (242,800).
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