Kuala Lumpur:Bursa Malaysia saw a decline at midday as profit-taking activities continued following a recent four-day high. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 5.60 points, or 0.34 percent, settling at 1,622.12, down from the previous day's close of 1,627.72. Opening at 1,625.10, the benchmark index fluctuated between 1,617.14 and 1,625.61 during morning trading.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the market witnessed a larger number of losers compared to gainers, with 764 counters declining against 236 advancing, while 444 remained unchanged, 1,399 untraded, and nine suspended. The turnover amounted to 1.83 billion units valued at RM1.32 billion.
Thong Pak Leng, vice-president of equity research at Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, noted the impact of overnight declines on Wall Street, attributed to higher-than-expected September inflation data, which poses challenges for the US Federal Reserve. He highlighted that the tech sector is also experiencing selling pressure due to concerns over potential overleveraging in AI-related stocks. Despite expectations of ongoing bargain hunting, Thong mentioned that profit-taking could limit any upward momentum, following a 20-point gain in the past three days.
Among the heavyweight stocks, Maybank increased by six sen to RM10.04, IHH Healthcare rose four sen to RM8.05, Tenaga Nasional gained two sen to RM13.00, and Nestle advanced by six sen to RM90.72. Gamuda saw an increase of three sen to RM4.88. In active trading, Zetrix AI and Ecosys each added half a sen, while Ni Hsin edged up one sen. Conversely, VS Industry fell half a sen, and Dagang Nexchange dropped 2.5 sen.
Top gainers included Fraser and Neave and Southern Acids, each up 16 sen, with Hong Leong Financial Group adding 12 sen. Analabs Resources and Kobay Technology both increased by seven sen. Malaysian Pacific Industries led decliners, falling RM1.82, followed by UMS Integration, UWC Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, and Vitrox Corporation, all experiencing declines.
On the index board, declines were noted across various indices, including the FBM Mid 70 Index, FBM Emas Index, FBM Top 100 Index, FBM Emas Shariah Index, and FBM ACE Index. Sector-wise, losses were recorded in the Industrial Products and Services Index, Plantation Index, Energy Index, and the Financial Services Index.