KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia continued its downward trajectory at mid-afternoon on Wednesday, aligning with the broader regional market trends. The decline is attributed to weak investor sentiment as political developments in the United States, including the anticipated return of Donald Trump to the White House later this month, loom over global markets.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 10.95 points to 1,631.38, down from Tuesday’s close of 1,642.33. The index opened with a slight decrease of 1.01 points at 1,641.32, setting a cautious tone for the trading day. The broader market exhibited negative tendencies, with 545 decliners outpacing 387 gainers, while 502 counters remained unchanged. Additionally, 921 counters were untraded, and 11 were suspended, with a turnover of 1.91 billion units valued at RM1.12 billion.
Among the market heavyweights, CelcomDigi and SD Guthrie showed minor gains, advancing by four sen to RM3.66 and one sen to RM4.96, respectively. MISC increased by three sen to RM7.63, while IHH Healthcare remained steady at RM7.30. In contrast, Maybank fell by four sen to RM10.20, Public Bank dropped three sen to RM4.53, CIMB decreased by eight sen to RM8.12, and TNB declined by 20 sen to RM14.74.
Active stocks saw mixed results, with Velocity Capital gaining one sen to six sen, SNS Network climbing 3.5 sen to 69.5 sen, and Winstar Capital rising 5.5 sen to 69 sen. Meanwhile, Vanzo inched down by half-a-sen to 21 sen, and Genting Malaysia slipped one sen to 10.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell by 58.0 points to 12,527.51, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased by 46.89 points to 12,543.68, and the FBMT 100 Index lost 62.94 points to 12,203.02. The FBM 70 Index eased by 26.40 points to 18,814.73, although the FBM ACE Index gained 38.03 points to 5,418.47. Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index strengthened by 123.95 points to 19,046.18, while the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 2.16 points to 174.29. The Plantation Index ticked down 19.62 points to 7,629.44, and the Energy Index garnered 8.66 points to 831.59.