Bursa ends slightly lower, tracking regional markets
KUALA LUMPUR : Bursa Malaysia ended the week slightly lower, tracking the negative performance seen across regional markets, particularly among emerging markets, an analyst said.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama that key regional indices ended mixed as investors remained cautious, awaiting further signals on trade negotiations between the US and key regional players, especially China.
Besides, he said that the weak performance on Wall Street overnight hurt market sentiment globally.
Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Sedek Jantan said the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) posted a marginal decline, despite yesterday's notable technical rebound, which helped cushion broader losses.
He said gains were concentrated mainly in select index constituents, supported by short-term technical recovery and renewed optimism surrounding data centre-related themes.
However, foreign investors continued to pare down their holdings in Malaysian equities, marking a third consecutive week of net selling.
Additionally, although US president Donald Trump described his phone conversation with Chinese president Xi Jinping as 'very good', the remarks failed to lift sentiment meaningfully.
Asian markets closed mixed, with major Chinese indices ending in negative territory, highlighting persistent investor caution amid unresolved geopolitical and macroeconomic headwinds.
Meanwhile, risk sentiment on Wall Street was briefly pressured by a public feud between Trump and businessman Elon Musk, centred on threats to revoke Musk's government contracts.
'At this stage, we view the issue as isolated, with limited impact on the broader technology sector in both the US and Malaysian markets,' said Sedek.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI was down 0.08%, or 1.33 points, to 1,516.79 from yesterday's close of 1,518.12.
The benchmark index opened at 1,516.91, less 1.21 points, and moved between 1,513.39 and 1,518.71 throughout the trading session.
Market breadth was negative, as decliners outnumbered gainers 478 to 325. A total of 529 counters remained unchanged, with 1,014 untraded and 20 suspended.
Turnover dropped to 1.92 billion units worth RM1.66 billion compared with yesterday's 2.42 billion units valued at RM2.27 billion.
Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals shed 11 sen to RM3.25, Press Metal Aluminium eased 7 sen to RM4.96, 99 Speedmart slid 2 sen to RM2.09, RHB Bank reduced 5 sen to RM6.35, and Petronas Dagangan fell 14 sen to RM21.
Among the most active stocks, MyEG added 1.5 sen to 94.5 sen, Tanco and Gamuda rose 3 sen each to RM1.03 and RM4.77, respectively, KPJ dropped 3 sen to RM2.75, and Signature Alliance Group gained 1 sen to 71 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index weakened 7.49 points to 11,355.34, the FBMT 100 Index cut 4.67 points to 11,123.69, but the FBM ACE Index gained 1.18 points to 4,519.32.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 11.52 points to 11,329.22, but the FBM 70 Index recovered 13.26 points to 16,296.57.
Sector-wise, the financial services index fell 31.26 points to 17,708.31, and the industrial products and services index was 1.32 points lower at 150.80.
However, the energy index rose 9.84 points to 718.45, and the plantation index grew 33.47 points to 7,252.85.
The Main Market volume narrowed to 964.07 million units valued at RM1.46 billion compared to yesterday's 1.16 billion units worth RM2 billion.
Warrants turnover dwindled to 706.23 million units worth RM98.53 million from 898.22 million units valued at RM114.39 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume declined to 249.20 million shares, valued at RM105 million, compared with 361.18 million shares worth RM153.86 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 123.80 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (164.82 million), construction (86.55 million), technology (154.08 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (54.91 million), property (133.50 million), plantation (8.96 million), REITs (14.57 million), closed-end funds (4,000), energy (79.64 million), healthcare (48.05 million), telecommunications and media (39.11 million), transportation and logistics (17.48 million), utilities (38.55 million), and business trusts (1,000).
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