BURSA MALAYSIA ENDS LOWER, TRACKING REGIONAL, WALL STREET DOWNTURN

By Siti Noor Afera Abu

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia gave up yesterday’s gains to close lower on Friday, tracking regional weakness following Wall Street’s downturn as global equities slipped on renewed worries over stretched technology valuations and uncertainty surrounding the US Federal Reserve’s policy outlook.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 6.60 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 1,625.67 from yesterday’s close of 1,632.27.

The barometer index opened 1.46 points weaker at 1,630.81, and fluctuated between 1,623.81 and 1,630.96 throughout the trading session.

Market breadth was negative, with decliners outpacing advancers 827 to 323, while 506 counters were unchanged, 1,082 untraded and 10 suspended.

Turnover slid to 3.64 billion units worth RM2.68 billion from 3.95 billion units worth RM2.77 billion on Thursday.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said, nonetheless, the underlying sentiment in Malaysia remains comparatively firm, supported by sustained foreign inflows and improving domestic macroeconomic signals.

“From Monday to Thursday, foreign investors turned net buyers of Malaysian equities - an encouraging indication of confidence despite heightened global volatility,” he told Bernama.

Across Asia, Mohd Sedek noted that similar external pressures were evident, with most major regional indices closing lower in tandem with Wall Street’s sharp sell-off, one of its weakest sessions since April, after leading artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor heavyweights extended their losses on valuation concerns.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI closed lower as profit-taking continued amid the regional sell-off.

Among heavyweights, Maybank lost two sen to RM9.93, Public Bank fell one sen to RM4.29, CIMB was four sen easier at RM7.53, and Tenaga Nasional decreased eight sen to RM13.42, while IHH Healthcare added two sen to RM8.27.

On the most active list, Tanco rose one sen to 95.5, Genting Malaysia gained two sen to RM2.30, while Zetrix AI and MMAG shed half-a-sen to 84.5 sen and 7.5 sen respectively. Pharmaniaga and Perak Transit were both flat at 26 sen and 26.5 sen, respectively.

Among the top gainers, Dutch Lady perked up 90 sen to RM29.50, Nestle gained 50 sen to RM113.50, United Plantations increased 30 sen to RM26.30, Manulife surged 20 sen to RM2.33, and Hong Leong Financial climbed 16 sen to RM17.40.

As for the top losers, Master-Pack slid 35 sen to RM2.04, Petronas Dagangan declined 34 sen to RM22.10, PPB and Kotra edged down 20 sen to RM11.60 and RM4.20, while Ajinomoto was 18 sen weaker at RM13.82.

On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index slipped 49.28 points to 11,823.06, the FBM Emas Index fell 54.67 points to 12,054.85, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slumped 71.79 points to 12,057.17.

The FBM ACE Index tumbled 88.84 points to 4,983.76 and the FBM Mid 70 Index dropped 76.04 points to 16,890.87.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index erased 15.77 points to 8,140.08, the Financial Services Index gave up 34.59 points to 18,431.34, the Industrial Products and Services Index trimmed 1.52 points to 166.99, while the Energy Index eased 1.20 points to 755.61.

The Main Market volume narrowed to 1.38 billion units valued at RM2.23 billion from 1.55 billion units valued at RM2.29 billion on Thursday

Warrants turnover dwindled to 1.90 billion units worth RM305.93 million compared with 2.03 billion units worth RM342.36 million previously.

The ACE Market volume decreased to 348.77 million units valued at RM143.45 million from 360.12 million units valued at RM139.57 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 279.94 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (251.24 million), construction (91.14 million), technology (225.55 million), financial services (56.62 million), property (181.72 million), plantation (48.23 million), real estate investment trusts (19.92 million), closed-end fund (25,300), energy (74.41 million), healthcare (91.75 million), telecommunications and media (26.13 million), transportation and logistics (13.57 million), utilities (26.48 million), and business trusts (69,700).

-- BERNAMA