Bursa Malaysia Ends At Day's Low, FBM KLCI Down 0.79 Pct
The benchmark index opened 1.45 points lower at 1,536.06 and hovered between 1,525.40 and 1,538.56 throughout the session.
Public Bank eased 8.0 sen to RM4.26, Maybank slid 7.0 sen to RM9.65 and Gamuda gave up 13 sen to RM4.96. These counters dragged the composite index down by a combined of 5.42 points.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 12.11 points or 0.79 per cent to 1,525.40 from Monday's close of 1,537.51.
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd's head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI's drop today reflected a cautious undertone among investors despite an improvement in broader market sentiment.
The market breadth was negative, with 601 decliners outpacing 412 gainers and 498 counters unchanged, while 918 were untraded and eight suspended.
'Investor focus remains firmly on the progress of the US-Malaysia tariff negotiations, with the Aug 1 deadline for the imposition of a 25 per cent import duty drawing near.
'The market appears to be factoring in a drawn-out negotiation process, contributing to prevailing risk aversion,' he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, he said the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry's (MITI) announcement on trade permit for artificial intelligence (AI) chips is a welcome step towards regulatory clarity while persistent concerns over potential US export controls on AI chip shipments to Malaysia continue to cast a shadow over sentiment particularly within the technology and semiconductor sectors.
'Nonetheless, from a medium to longer-term perspective, we see the strengthening of governance and compliance standards as a positive structural shift that may enhance Malaysia's competitive positioning within global value chains, potentially serving as a future catalyst for investor confidence,' he added.
Among other heavyweight counters, CIMB reduced 6.0 sen to RM6.63, Hong Leong Bank lost 26 sen to RM19.30, Tenaga Nasional decreased 8.0 sen to RM13.90, 99 Speed Mart added 3.0 sen to RM2.30 and Sunway rose 4.0 sen to RM4.92.
In active trade, Zetrix AI was 5.5 sen lower at 93 sen, Nationgate shed 12 sen to RM1.49, Dagang NeXchange weakened 1.0 sen to 30.5 sen, NexG gained half-a-sen to 47.5 sen while Tanco was flat at 90.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 82.38 points to 11,476.08, the FBMT 100 Index sank 83.43 points to 11,237.61 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 77.42 points to 11,483.18.
The FBM 70 Index dropped 98.80 points to 16,688.40, while the FBM ACE Index improved 16.10 points to 4,587.62.
By sector, the Financial Services Index dipped 161.22 points to 17,502.65, the Industrial Products and Services Index shaved 0.48 of a point to 153.39 and the Plantation Index eased 15.68 points to 7,418.42. The Energy Index inched down 8.46 points to 738.92.
The Main Market volume rebounded to 1.44 billion units worth RM2.07 billion from 1.13 billion units valued at RM1.35 billion on Monday.
Warrant turnover slipped to 1.28 billion units valued at RM172.45 million from 1.46 billion units worth RM208.01 million previously.
The ACE Market volume increased to 347.59 million units valued at RM122.67 million versus 342.18 million units worth RM113.55 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 171.02 million shares traded on the Main Market; industrial products and services (350.21 million), construction (107.34 million), technology (365.39 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (54.91 million), property (134.33 million), plantation (13.85 million), REITs (28.72 million), closed-end fund (3,400), energy (69.98 million), healthcare (50.38 million), telecommunications and media (30.08 million), transportation and logistics (37.56 million), utilities (28.22 million), and business trusts (24,300).
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