Kuala Lumpur: Bursa Malaysia retreated to close lower today following broad-based selling after a four-day rally, primarily due to profit-taking, amid the mostly weaker regional peers, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 10.60 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 1,577.20 from yesterday's close of 1,587.80. The index opened 1.28 points lower at 1,586.52 and moved between 1,575.67 and 1,586.52 during the day. Market breadth was negative with losers thumping gainers 671 to 283, while 503 counters were unchanged, 940 untraded and 83 suspended. Turnover climbed to 3.23 billion units valued at RM2.74 billion from Wednesday's 2.99 billion units valued at RM2.24 billion.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the benchmark index took a breather after four consecutive days of gains as investors locked in profits. 'We view this as a healthy correction, allowing the market to absorb the recent uptrend and presenting a favourable opportunity to accumulate stocks at lower levels,' he told Bernama. He opined the overall outlook suggests caution in the short term but remains positive in the long term, provided key support levels hold. 'We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trade within the 1,570-1,590 range towards the weekend,' he added.
Meanwhile UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said besides profit-taking, investors responded to US President Donald Trump's announcement on the Stargate artificial intelligence (AI) project. 'The market's reaction to this news has largely been positive, with investors anticipating potential opportunities to earn from overnight stock price spikes. However, there is also some concerns regarding the potential impact of the Stargate project on data centres in Malaysia,' he said. He added that investors will also be closely watching the release of the US initial jobless claims later today as it could provide further insights into the health of the US labour market and influence market sentiment in the short term.
Among the heavyweights, Public Bank declined six sen to RM4.34, CIMB reduced nine sen to RM7.97, IHH Healthcare decreased one sen to RM7.17, and Tenaga Nasional dropped eight sen to RM13.80 while Maybank was flat at RM10.36. As for active stocks, newly-listed Oriental Kopi Holdings jumped 43.5 sen to 87.5 sen, Harvest Miracle Capital gained half-a-sen to 18 sen, Swift Energy Technology and PUC were both flat at 36.5 sen and 4.5 sen respectively, while Gamuda eased six sen to RM4.29.