Kuala Lumpur:Bursa Malaysia experienced a decline by midday, driven by selling pressure in heavyweight banking stocks, mirroring a softer performance on Wall Street.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 13.67 points to 1,656.35 from the previous closing figure of 1,670.02. The index opened 5.91 points lower at 1,664.11, fluctuating between 1,653.63 and 1,665.32 during the session.
Key banking stocks were among the most affected, with CIMB dropping 18 sen to RM7.81, Maybank decreasing eight sen to RM10.08, Public Bank falling four sen to RM4.75, RHB Bank losing 16 sen to RM7.68, and AMMB reducing by five sen to RM6.55.
The market saw negative breadth with 646 decliners compared to 312 gainers. Another 459 counters remained unchanged, while 1,474 were untraded and 143 suspended. The total turnover was 1.83 billion shares worth RM1.18 billion.
Apex Securities Bhd noted that technically, the key index maintained a narrow range above the 1,660 support level, suggesting early signs of stabilization as the FBM KLCI nears the lower boundary of its descending trend channel around 1,640. They indicated that a sustained move above 1,680-1,685 could signal improved near-term momentum, with resistance at 1,700-1,705. However, a break below 1,660 might highlight the descending trend channel's lower boundary.
Among other notable stocks, Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare each added four sen, trading at RM12.94 and RM7.99, respectively.
In active trading, Zetrix AI fell 2.5 sen to 16.5 sen, Jaks Resources gained half a sen to 19 sen, Ni Hsin edged down half a sen to 38.5 sen, while MAG stayed unchanged at 15.5 sen and JCY International rose 2.5 sen to 58 sen.
Top gainers included Solarvest, up 28 sen to RM4.40, Ranhill Utilities gaining 15 sen to RM3.34, Southern Cable jumping 14 sen to RM2.90, KLCC Property REITS rising 13 sen to RM8.48, and Petronas Dagangan climbing 12 sen to RM19.44.
In contrast, Malaysian Pacific Industries led the losers, falling RM1.50 to RM40.70, with Fraser and Neave losing 74 sen to RM21.48, United Plantations dropping 28 sen to RM31.32, Allianz Malaysia shedding 18 sen to RM20.92, and Unisem sliding 16 sen to RM4.33.
Index performance showed the FBM Mid 70 Index down 72.29 points to 17,615.47, the FBM Emas Index reducing by 84.42 points to 12,330.37, and the FBM Top 100 Index decreasing by 87.14 points to 12,119.81. The FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 55.22 points to 12,187.10, while the FBM ACE Index increased by 8.52 points to 5,499.13.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.79 points to 182.01, the Energy Index gained 3.86 points to 865.68, the Financial Services Index dropped 203.82 points to 19,394.56, and the Plantation Index rose 29.22 points to 9,247.71.