BURSA MALAYSIA ENDS LOWER ON CONTINUOUS SELLING, DEEPSEEK LAUNCH RAISES INVESTOR CONCERNS

By Anas Abu Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia extended its subdued trading to close lower today, dragged by persistent selling as the market was influenced by Wall Street’s sharp reaction to the introduction of China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence (AI) model, said an analyst.

At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 6.28 points, or 0.4 per cent, to end at 1,552.69 compared to yesterday’s close of 1,558.97.

The barometer index opened 1.53 points lower at 1,557.44 -- its high for the day, and moved to a low of 1,544.87 during the morning session.

Market breadth was also negative as decliners thumped gainers 537 to 372, with 466 counters unchanged, 924 untraded and 37 suspended.

Turnover narrowed to 2.19 billion units valued at RM2.01 billion compared to 2.76 billion units valued at RM2.38 billion on Monday.   

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan noted that while DeepSeek’s breakthrough could be viewed as a positive development for the AI sector, it has instead heightened investor concerns.

This unease in global markets has intensified selling pressure on the FBM KLCI, which has been under strain since last Thursday, he said.

"Within the index, only a handful of counters managed to post gains. Utilities stocks remained under selling pressure, while those linked to AI and data centres continued to decline.

"Nevertheless, despite these short-term challenges, Malaysia’s equity market retains significant potential for long-term growth," he told Bernama.

According to Mohd Sedek, as global firms reassess their capital expenditure strategies, Malaysia’s data centre industry is well-positioned to benefit due to its cost-effective offerings.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank dropped 12 sen to RM10.24, CIMB fell nine sen to RM7.94, Public Bank eased one sen to RM4.37, IHH Healthcare trimmed eight sen to RM7.15, while Tenaga Nasional gained 16 sen to RM13.60.

For actives, YTL Power lost 11 sen to RM3.11, Nationgate slid nine sen to RM1.79, YTL Corp and Gamuda eased three sen each to RM1.90 and RM4.03 respectively, while Oriental Kopi rose two sen to 84.5 sen.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index slipped 54.48 points to 11,842.86, the FBMT 100 Index fell 55.08 points to 11,541.19, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 35.29 points to 11,694.50.

The FBM 70 Index tumbled 115.25 points to 17,522.01 while the FBM ACE Index rose 28.29 points to 5,145.70. 

By sector, the Financial Services Index declined by 137.45 points to 18,792.11, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.45 of-a-point to 165.01, and the Energy Index shed 1.82 points to 822.48. 

The Plantation Index gained 80.97 points to 7,394.51.

The Main Market volume trimmed to 1.10 billion units worth RM1.80 billion against 1.31 billion units worth RM2.08 billion on Monday.

Warrants turnover dwindled to 772.76 million units valued at RM69.38 million from 954.50 million units valued at RM88.82 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume decreased to 302.93 million units worth RM139.83 million compared to 495.71 million units worth RM202.23 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 144.05 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (212.48 million), construction (98.32 million), technology (109.08 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (36.28 million), property (133.81 million), plantation (12.17 million), REITs (10.76 million), closed/fund (22,700), energy (119.38 million), healthcare (26.53 million), telecommunications and media (20.97 million), transportation and logistics (18.02 million), utilities (161.74 million), and business trusts (86,000).

Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries will be closed on Jan 29 and Jan 30 in conjunction with the Chinese New Year (CNY) public holidays.

-- BERNAMA