FBM KLCI PARES LOSS AT CLOSE AMID MARKET UNCERTAINTY AHEAD OF EXPECTED US RATE CUT

By Siti Radziah Hamzah

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 (Bernama)  -- Bursa Malaysia pared losses at the close on Wednesday but overall market sentiment remained weak as most traders remained on the sidelines ahead of an expected US interest rate cut later tonight.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 3.69 points, or 0.22 per cent,  to 1,660.59 from Tuesday's close of 1,664.28.  The FBM KLCI opened  0.05 of-a-point higher at 1,664.33 and moved between 1,654.0 and 1,664.78 throughout the day.

Decliners outpaced gainers in the broader market 526 to 442 while 489 counters were unchanged, 1,048 untraded and nine suspended.

Turnover eased to 2.30 billion units worth RM2.75 billion from Tuesday's 3.19 billion units worth RM3.35 billion.   

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) “decision day” has weighed on the local bourse and regional markets, leading to a negative performance as investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of tonight’s announcement.

"While a rate cut is expected, the Fed’s accompanying statement and ‘dot plot’ will be critical for traders and analysts in assessing the scale and pace of future cuts. The FBM KLCI’s movement from tomorrow onward will hinge on how investors interpret the Fed’s statement,” he told Bernama.

Mohd Sedek expects the Fed to adopt a “cut-and-pause” strategy rather than a series of cuts, which would help curb inflationary pressures and support the US dollar. "Although both approaches may offer short term relief, a cut-and-pause strategy provides a more stable environment by allowing time to assess the economic impact of each cut, thereby reducing the risk of market volatility,” he said. 

Regionally, Japan's Nikkei 225 put on 0.49 per cent to 36,380.17, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 1.37 per cent 17,660.02 and Singapore's Straits Times Index eased 0.10 per cent to 3,589.83.

Among Bursa Malaysia heavyweight counters, Maybank gained two sen to RM10.68, Public Bank added one sen to RM4.71 while IHH Healthcare rose six sen to RM7.11. Hong Leong Bank was flat at RM21.20, Cimb shed three sen to RM8.33, TNB trimmed eight sen to RM14.74 and Petronas Chemicals discounted six sen to RM5.52.

Among the actives, MyEG advanced 2.5 sen to 95.5 sen, Cape EMS added 1.5 sen to 36.5 sen and 99 Speed Mart grew 1.0 sen to RM1.90. Alpha IVF was flat at 35.5 sen, Top Glove slid 7.0 sen to RM1.07 and Hartalega gave up three sen to RM3.11. Kossan slid 13 sen to RM2.12 and Careplus was 1.5 sen easier to 29 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index eased 17.89 points to 12,403.98, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 15.30 points to 12,258.64 and the FBMT 100 Index lost 21.69 points to 12,115.8.  

The FBM 70 Index gave up 11.85 points to 17,567.96 and the FBM ACE Index slipped 15.5 points to 5,086.81.   

By sector, the Financial Services Index expanded by 19.14 points to 19,660.09, the Energy Index slipped 7.45 points to 862.27 and the Plantation Index dropped 49.27 points to 7,164.2. The Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.83 of-a-point to 176.08.  

The Main Market volume fell to 1.59 billion units worth RM2.62 billion from Tuesday's 1.88 billion units worth RM3.14 billion.  

Warrant turnover was sharply lower at 421.13 million units valued at RM39.83 million from 932.78 million units valued at RM108.56 million yesterday.   

The ACE Market volume narrowed to 286.10 million units worth RM91.29 million versus Tuesday's 370.14 million units worth RM96.42 million.  

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 182.57 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (225.64 million), construction (114.14 million), technology (344.51 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (95.21 million), property (165.71 million), plantation (92.41 million), REITs (152.40 million), closed/fund (31,300), energy (63.11 million), healthcare (267.72 million), telecommunications and media (26.04 million), transportation and logistics (20.66 million), utilities (58.92 million), and business trusts (89,900).

-- BERNAMA