Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia reversed earlier gains to close lower on Tuesday, weighed down by late selling in selected heavyweight counters as investors turned cautious amid a regional downtrend. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 3.73 points, or 0.23 percent, to 1,611.46 from 1,615.19 at Monday's close. The benchmark index opened 2.10 points higher at 1,617.29 and moved between 1,610.05 and 1,622.75 throughout the trading session.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the broader market was negative with 811 decliners thumping 390 gainers, while 503 counters were unchanged, 955 untraded, and nine suspended. Turnover increased to 3.66 billion units worth RM3.78 billion compared with 3.57 billion units valued at RM2.82 billion previously.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that key regional indices ended mostly lower as investors remained cautious amid lingering uncertainty over US-China trade tensions, which continued to weigh on market sentiment. Although US President Donald Trump mentioned a potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month at a regional summit, investors remained doubtful, contributing to the late selling in selected heavyweight counters on the FBM KLCI.
Mohd Sedek Jantan, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist, remarked that the FBM KLCI's late-session weakness underscored the fragile equilibrium currently shaping regional markets. He explained that domestic resilience, supported by fiscal stimulus, is being offset by external uncertainties. Despite Budget 2026 providing a credible domestic anchor, the global backdrop, marked by inconsistent trade signals and persistent geopolitical risks, continues to restrain a sustained market recovery.
On the local bourse, heavyweights Tenaga Nasional eased six sen to RM13.20, and CIMB Group fell 8.0 sen to RM7.35, while Maybank and Public Bank slipped 1.0 sen each to RM9.92 and RM4.21, respectively. In contrast, IHH Healthcare added six sen to RM8.05. Among the most active list, Tanco Holdings added one sen to 86 sen, while Pharmaniaga eased 1.5 sen to 26 sen, and VS Industry declined 3.0 sen to 53 sen.
In terms of top gainers, Nestle rose RM2.50 to RM102.10, while Fraser and Neave advanced 44 sen to RM28.10, and Genting Malaysia jumped 18 sen to RM2.32. Meanwhile, among the top decliners, Malaysian Pacific Industries slid RM1.26 to RM29.04, Petronas Gas declined 38 sen to RM18.56, and Petronas Dagangan eased 30 sen to RM22.70.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index lost 41.51 points to 12,037.03, the FBMT 100 Index fell 31.07 points to 11,768.08, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 61.31 points to 12,111.48. Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index shed 44.07 points to 18,177.98, the Industrial Products and Services Index went down 0.95 of a point to 173.57, the Energy Index slipped 5.33 points to 789.84, and the Plantation Index narrowed 35.74 points to 7,829.38.
The Main Market volume increased to 2.35 billion units valued at RM3.48 billion from 1.93 billion units worth RM2.49 billion previously. Warrant turnover fell to 752.78 million units worth RM87.72 million compared with 1.12 billion units valued at RM134.92 million on Monday. The ACE Market volume expanded to 549.25 million units valued at RM219.25 million from 516.48 million units worth RM188.52 million yesterday.