Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia ended the trading day in consolidation mode as investor caution prevailed, despite positive performances in regional markets. At the close, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) had dropped by 7.04 points or 0.43 percent to settle at 1,611.74, down from the previous closing of 1,618.78.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the benchmark index initially opened slightly higher at 1,619.54 and reached a peak of 1,620.99 during the morning session. However, it subsequently dipped to a low of 1,611.25 in late trading hours. The broader market sentiment was negative, with 588 decliners surpassing 556 gainers, while 569 counters remained unchanged, 1,096 were untraded, and 40 were suspended.
Turnover for the day decreased to 4.39 billion units valued at RM2.82 billion, compared to Monday's 5.81 billion units worth RM5.24 billion. Thong Pak Leng, vice-president of equity research at Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, commented on the market's movement, suggesting that the index had entered a consolidation phase after recent gains. He emphasized that the consistently strong market volume is a positive indicator of firm participation, even amidst the sideways market trend.
Thong added that the underlying market tone remains steady, viewing the current pause as a natural breather rather than a sign of weakness. He anticipated that the FBM KLCI would trend between 1,610 and 1,640 for the remainder of the week.
In terms of individual stocks, Maybank saw a slight rise, adding two sen to RM9.98. Public Bank and CIMB were unchanged at RM4.30 and RM7.47, respectively. TNB gained six sen to RM13.10, while IHH saw a decrease of four sen to RM8.04. Among the most active counters, XOX Technology decreased by half-a-sen to five sen, Velesto dropped one sen to 22.5 sen, and Polymer Link remained flat at 25 sen. Zetrix increased by two sen to 83.5 sen, and Tanco climbed four sen to RM1.08.
Top gainers included MPI, which rose RM1.38 to RM33.04, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, which advanced 32 sen to RM21.04, and Dutch Lady, which added 26 sen to RM29.30. United Plantations increased by 24 sen to RM28.60, and UWC gained 18 sen to RM3.71. Conversely, the top losers saw Nestle drop RM2 to RM110, Hong Leong Bank decrease by 94 sen to RM21.28, and Petronas Dagangan fall 38 sen to RM20.62.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased by 33.16 points to 11,986.35, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index saw a decline of 30.30 points to 11,965.52. The FBMT 100 Index fell by 37.59 points to 11,756.43. In contrast, the FBM ACE Index advanced by 22.16 points to 4,925.04, and the FBM Mid 70 Index increased by 5.60 points to 16,946.80.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined by 67.92 points to 18,469.00, while the Plantation Index gained 14.65 points to 8,232.22. The Energy Index added 2.99 points to 760.32, and the Industrial Products and Services Index eased by 0.10 of a point to 163.55.
Market volume on the Main Market fell to 1.52 billion units worth RM2.27 billion, compared to Monday's 2.02 billion units worth RM4.47 billion. Warrants turnover also decreased to 2.45 billion units valued at RM419.16 million from the previous 3.37 billion units worth RM628.30 million. Meanwhile, the ACE Market volume improved to 428.17 million units valued at RM134.95 million.
Consumer products and services led the Main Market with 308.98 million shares traded, followed by industrial products and services with 260.59 million, construction with 100.91 million, and technology with 230.34 million. Financial services accounted for 43.15 million, while property saw 173.35 million shares traded. Other sectors included plantation, real estate investment trusts, closed-end fund, energy, healthcare, telecommunications and media, transportation and logistics, utilities, and business trusts.