Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia ended marginally lower on Monday, with the benchmark index paring its earlier losses after rebounding from intraday lows amid heavy selling in the morning session.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan noted that market sentiment was influenced by global macroeconomic and geopolitical developments. Investors were balancing artificial intelligence's long-term earnings potential against rising costs, demanding valuations, and the fragile US-Iran ceasefire.

At the close of trading, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased by 1.83 points to 1,665.91, compared to Friday's close of 1,667.74. The benchmark index had opened 1.04 points higher at 1,668.78, reaching an intraday low of 1,655.28 in the mid-morning session before hitting a high of 1,669.21 in the late afternoon.

Market breadth was positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 554 to 481, while 555 counters remained unchanged, 1,153 were untraded, and 133 were suspended. Turnover dwindled to 2.71 billion units valued at RM2.13 billion, down from 2.93 billion units valued at RM2.26 billion last Friday.

Mohd Sedek explained that the benchmark reduced its losses due to bargain hunting in the afternoon, with the broader market showing a more constructive picture. Both the FBM 70 and FBM Small Cap indices closed higher, indicating that investors continued to selectively accumulate fundamentally strong mid- and small-cap stocks despite the weakness in the heavyweight index.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng mentioned that regional markets were mixed as investors considered geopolitical risks in West Asia against renewed trade tensions following China's tightening of export controls on 20 Japanese companies. Despite a cautious environment, the FBM KLCI is nearing oversold levels, which could encourage selective bargain hunting.

Thong added that the recent market correction has improved valuations of many fundamentally sound blue-chip stocks, making them more attractive for long-term investors. He anticipated that the FBM KLCI would remain range-bound within 1,660-1,690 points for the week.

Among heavyweights, Maybank was unchanged at RM10.80, Public Bank fell four sen to RM4.79, Tenaga Nasional dropped eight sen to RM14.26, IHH slipped 14 sen to RM8.40, while CIMB increased four sen to RM7.45.

Active counters included Zetrix AI, down one sen to 76 sen, Silver Ridge, which slid 7.5 sen to 11 sen, and ACE Market debutant RT Pastry, which trimmed two sen to 16 sen. Dagang NeXchange remained unchanged at 42 sen, while Astro rose half a sen to 6.5 sen.

Top gainers were Malaysian Pacific Industries, which increased RM2.10 to RM49.10, Fraser and Neave up 16 sen to RM27.86, Vitrox up 29 sen to RM7.53, Petronas Dagangan climbing 22 sen to RM18.82, and Apollo Food rising 15 sen to RM5.85.

Meanwhile, top losers included Nestle, which declined RM2.42 to RM93.42, KL Kepong down 34 sen to RM20.96, Hong Leong Bank slipping 28 sen to RM21.40, Hartanah Kenyalang tumbling 17.5 sen to 55.5 sen, and Petronas Gas losing 14 sen to RM17.40.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index was down 14.89 points to 12,379.91, while the FBM Top 100 Index rose 11.50 points to 12,213.09. The FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 11.22 points to 12,252.52. The FBM Mid 70 Index rose 122.52 points to 17,848.71, and the FBM ACE Index increased 43.99 points to 4,789.29.

In sectoral terms, the Financial Services Index climbed 9.91 points to 19,673.03, while the Plantation Index dipped 57.34 points to 8,825.64. The Energy Index increased by 1.60 points to 747.50, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up by 1.78 points to 181.37.

The Main Market volume narrowed to 1.33 billion units valued at RM1.86 billion, compared with 1.36 billion units valued at RM1.98 billion last Friday. Warrants turnover decreased to 851.04 million units worth RM110.69 million, down from 1.04 billion units worth RM125.28 million previously. The ACE Market volume eased to 526.01 million units valued at RM163.67 million from 530.03 million units valued at RM151.60 million last Friday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 173.40 million shares traded on the Main Market, followed by industrial products and services with 230.01 million, technology with 337.25 million, and financial services with 53.03 million, among others.