Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Friday, influenced by cautious sentiment amid a weaker regional market performance, according to an analyst.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, at 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 7.42 points, or 0.46 percent, to 1,622.25 from Thursday's close of 1,629.67. The benchmark index opened 1.51 points weaker at 1,628.16 and fluctuated between 1,621.74 and 1,628.21 throughout the trading session. The broader market showed a negative trend, with 593 decliners outnumbering 435 gainers, while 549 counters remained unchanged, 1,052 were untraded, and eight were suspended.
Turnover fell to 3.23 billion units valued at RM2.84 billion, compared with 4.74 billion units worth RM3.62 billion on the previous day. IPPFA Sdn Bhd's director of investment strategy and country economist, Mohd Sedek Jantan, told Bernama that investors are adopting a wait-and-see approach due to weaker regional market performance, despite positive local developments. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tabled the Budget 2026 in the Dewan Rakyat at 4.05 pm, announcing an increase in public spending to RM470 billion from RM452 billion in Budget 2025.
On the local bourse, heavyweight stocks such as Maybank eased by five sen to RM9.95, CIMB Group fell by seven sen to RM7.50, and Tenaga Nasional was lower by six sen at RM13.22. IHH Healthcare slipped 11 sen to RM7.99, while Public Bank rose by one sen to RM4.30. Among the most active stocks, Top Glove and V.S. Industry increased by half-a-sen each to 67.5 sen and 57 sen, respectively. Tanco erased half-a-sen to 84.5 sen, Hartalega shed six sen to RM1.24, and KNM remained flat at half-a-sen.
Top gainers included VSTECS, which rose 22 sen to RM4.28, Hap Seng Consolidated advanced 16 sen to RM2.99, and both Hong Leong Bank and Hong Leong Financial climbed 14 sen to RM20.64 and RM17.02, respectively. Metrod increased by 12 sen to RM1.32. Conversely, among the top losers, Nestle declined by RM2 to RM97.56, Malaysian Pacific Industries slid 44 sen to RM30.72, Fraser and Neave fell 26 sen to RM27.44, Malayan Cement trimmed 25 sen to RM6.83, and KESM dropped 23 sen to RM3.67.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 50.40 points to 12,131.31, while the FBM 100 Index dropped 53.82 points to 11,853.88. The FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 47.14 points to 12,198.97, and the FBM 70 Index dipped 76.08 points to 17,177.52. Meanwhile, the FBM ACE Index edged up 7.63 points to 5,298.76.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index remained unchanged at 174.86, while the Plantation Index narrowed 13.50 points to 7,890.95. The Financial Services Index slipped 69.41 points to 18,383.44, whereas the Energy Index gained 4.04 points to 799.00.
The Main Market volume dropped to 1.78 billion units valued at RM2.54 billion, compared to 2.18 billion units worth RM3.13 billion on Thursday. Warrants turnover decreased to 1.04 billion units worth RM130.19 million, compared to 1.99 billion units valued at RM280.05 million the previous day. The ACE Market volume dwindled to 411.55 million units valued at RM162.59 million from 579.29 million units worth RM207.97 million previously. Consumer products and services counters accounted for 224.21 million shares traded on the Main Market, followed by industrial products and services (303.71 million), construction (103.39 million), and technology (184.84 million), among others.