BURSA MALAYSIA TRACKS REGIONAL DECLINES AMID WIDENING GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS

By Siti Radziah Hamzah

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended broadly lower on Wednesday, tracking declines across regional markets, with South Korea posting one of the sharpest drops as investors reacted to widening geopolitical fallout.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 13.73 points, or 0.80 per cent, to 1,698.22 from Tuesday’s close of 1,711.95.

The benchmark index opened 0.52 of-a-point weaker at 1,711.43 and moved between 1,694.75 and 1,713.19  throughout the session.

Market breadth was negative, with 945 losers trouncing 257 gainers, while 446 counters were unchanged, 974 untraded and 10 suspended.

Turnover rose to 3.51 billion units worth RM3.79 billion from 3.31 billion units valued at RM3.67 billion on Tuesday.  

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the key development weighing on markets was reports that US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a full trade embargo on Spain after the European and NATO ally refused to allow the US military aircraft to use its bases for operations linked to potential strikes on Iran.

He added that the development had heightened concerns that the conflict could widen beyond the Middle East, increasing geopolitical and trade uncertainties and prompting investors to scale back exposure to equities, including those in Malaysia.

“Interestingly, foreign investors remained net buyers in Bursa Malaysia over the past two trading sessions (Monday and Tuesday), suggesting that some funds continue to view the recent pullback as a potential entry opportunity despite rising global uncertainties,” Mohd Sedek told Bernama.

He added that in the near term, investors were likely to remain cautious and adopt a wait-and-see approach until there is greater clarity on the trajectory of the geopolitical situation.

Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 2.11 per cent to 4,812.75, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 2.01 per cent to 25,249.48, Japan's Nikkei 225 shrank 3.61 per cent to 54,245.54, and South Korea’s KOSPI slumped 12.06 per cent to 5,093.54. 

Among Bursa Malaysia’s heavyweights, Press Metal advanced six sen to RM7.40, Sunway Bhd increased eight sen to RM5.63, Maybank trimmed 18 sen to RM11.66, Public Bank declined five sen to RM4.84, and CIMB slipped seven sen to RM7.95. 

On the most active list, Hengyuan Refining Company jumped 19 sen to RM1.54, Capital A was flat at 50 sen, Bumi Armada erased 2.5 sen to 35.5 sen, and Velesto went down one sen to 32 sen. 

Top gainers included United Plantations which firmed 60 sen to RM30.20, PPB climbed 30 sen to RM10.90, and Malaysian Pacific Industries garnered eight sen to RM30.50.

As for the top losers, Nestle declined 50 sen to RM107, Allianz Malaysia slid 38 sen to RM21.36, Hong Leong Bank shaved off 34 sen to RM23.06, and Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 30 sen to RM18.60. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased by 117.95 points to 12,434.47, the FBMT 100 Index fell 110.10 points to 12,266.66, the FBM Emas Shariah Index sank 83.60 points to 12,088.24, the FBM 70 Index tumbled 203.75 points to 17,154.26, and the FBM ACE Index declined by 109.94 points to 4,505.82.   

By sector, the Financial Services Index dipped 234.76 points to 20,768.78, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.49 of-a-point to 171.72, the Energy Index slid 15.50 points to 786.61, and the Plantation Index slipped 38.41 points to 8,138.66.   

The Main Market volume improved to 2.20 billion units valued at RM3.54 billion from 2.16 billion units valued at RM3.43 billion on Tuesday.   

Warrants turnover expanded to 922.48 million units worth RM125.75 million from 824.92 million units worth RM108.24 million yesterday. 

The ACE Market volume advanced to 377.39 million units valued at RM126.46 million against 328.84 million units valued at RM127.09 million previously.   

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 317.24 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (313.22 million), construction (134.85 million), technology (232.84 million), financial services (154.53 million), property (189.34 million), plantation (29.50 million), real estate investment trusts (26.27 million), closed-end fund (7,000), energy (515.44 million), healthcare (141.68 million), telecommunications and media (64.54 million), transportation and logistics (37.52 million), utilities (52.31 million), and business trusts (34,100).

-- BERNAMA