KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia reversed earlier gains to close at its intraday low on Thursday, weighed down by late selling and profit-taking, despite the upbeat performances in regional markets.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 2.61 points, or to 0.16 per cent, to 1,618.94 from Wednesday’s close of 1,621.55.
The benchmark index opened 0.06 of-a-point lower at 1,621.49, and reached its highest level of 1,624.29 in early trade.
However, the broader market was slightly positive, with 580 gainers leading 536 losers, while 584 counters were unchanged, 953 untraded, and eight suspended.
Turnover fell to 3.96 billion units worth RM2.52 billion compared with 4.77 billion units worth RM2.70 billion on Wednesday.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said industrial products and services counters led the advances, supported by Bank Negara Malaysia’s decision to maintain the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 2.75 per cent.
However, he said consumer and retail-related counters saw a measured pullback, reflecting profit-taking after a strong three-month rally.
“Maintaining the OPR continues to provide businesses with a stable and predictable financing environment. Domestic demand remains resilient, and we still expect consumer-linked equities to perform this quarter, given the supportive labour market and steady income conditions,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Mohd Sedek said regional markets posted their strongest rise in over a week, with investors returning to technology stocks following a brief correction.
“Investor positioning continues to demonstrate conviction in the structural growth implications of artificial intelligence, even as questions surrounding valuations and market concentration persist.
“Positive cues from Wall Street, where similar accumulation on weakness occurred, bolstered risk appetite across regional markets,” he said.
Among heavyweights, Maybank, CIMB Group and Tenaga Nasional were all flat at RM9.92, RM7.50 and RM13.20, respectively. Public Bank slipped eight sen to RM4.26 and IHH Healthcare dipped six sen to RM8.22.
On the actives list, MMAG eased one sen to 9.5 sen, Perak Transit shed three sen to 26.5 sen, NexG remained unchanged at 30 sen, Tanco and Zetrix AI gained two sen each to 90.5 sen and 84 sen, respectively.
Among top gainers, Hong Leong Industries climbed 54 sen to RM14.74, Chin Teck Plantations put on 20 sen to RM10.80, Dutch Lady Milk added 16 sen to RM26.78, and MISC and Lim Seong Hai Capital both garnered 14 sen to RM7.79 and RM2.40, respectively.
Top losers included Nestle which dropped RM3.20 to RM112.80, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 30 sen to RM20.78, Petronas Dagangan slid 26 sen to RM22.54, and Petronas Gas and Malaysian Pacific Industries declined 24 sen each to RM18.46 and RM30.20, respectively.
On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index shed 11.95 points to 11,795.20 and the FBM Emas Index fell 11.03 points to 12,037.89.
In contrast, the FBM Emas Shariah Index edged up 7.59 points to 12,057.20, the FBM ACE Index increased 6.50 points to 5,083.45, and the FBM Mid 70 Index rose 13.37 points to 16,942.74.
By sector, the Plantation Index added 6.19 points to 8,057.53, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.12 of-a-point to 168.96, the Energy Index perked up 6.03 points to 767.86, while the Financial Services Index tumbled 85.92 points to 18,337.87.
The Main Market volume decreased to 1.52 billion units valued at RM2.05 billion from 2.05 billion units valued at RM2.16 billion on Wednesday.
Warrants turnover slipped to 1.99 billion units worth RM341.15 million compared with 2.04 billion units worth RM369.98 million previously.
The ACE Market volume dwindled to 445.35 million units valued at RM129.49 million from 670.68 million units valued at RM160.92 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 319.78 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (263.05 million), construction (136.74 million), technology (271.10 million), financial services (58.64 million), property (156.34 million), plantation (38.28 million), real estate investment trusts (24.91 million), closed-end fund (4,600), energy (92.16 million), healthcare (49.60 million), telecommunications and media (48.77 million), transportation and logistics (38.16 million), utilities (24 million), and business trusts (342,600).
