Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia ended the day with minimal movement as investors remained cautious, waiting for upcoming corporate earnings reports to guide the market's direction. At the close of trading, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) saw a slight decrease of 0.15 points, closing at 1,736.33, down from Friday's close of 1,736.48.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the index initially opened higher by 1.83 points at 1,738.31 but fluctuated throughout the day, reaching a low of 1,733.07 and a high of 1,739.47. The broader market saw 714 losers compared to 482 gainers, with 539 counters unchanged, 1,139 untraded, and 46 suspended. Turnover declined to 3.60 billion units valued at RM3.03 billion from 3.91 billion units valued at RM3.32 billion last Friday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, noted that the index's ability to hold above the 1,730 level indicates underlying support, despite the cautious trading environment. He suggested that stronger earnings from index heavyweights might catalyze an upward movement, and domestic fundamentals are expected to cushion any downturns. Thong anticipates the FBM KLCI to trade within a range of 1,725-1,745 for the week.
Meanwhile, IPPFA Sdn Bhd's director of investment strategy and country economist, Mohd Sedek Jantan, pointed out that trading sentiment was further subdued in anticipation of Malaysia's public holiday tomorrow, contributing to a more cautious trading atmosphere. Bursa Malaysia will be closed tomorrow in observance of Prophet Muhammad's birthday.
Mohd Sedek also highlighted that investors are focusing on the upcoming Jackson Hole symposium, where US policymakers' signals regarding interest rates will be closely monitored. He expects a combination of weaker technology sentiment, global yield concerns, and a shortened trading week to keep investors selective, with domestic and defensive sectors likely offering more resilience.
In terms of individual stocks, Maybank saw a decrease of four sen to RM10.56, while Public Bank and CIMB Group increased by one sen each to RM5.10 and RM7.96, respectively. Tenaga Nasional dropped 10 sen to RM14.30, and IHH Healthcare fell 13 sen to RM8.15.
On the list of most active stocks, Zetrix AI rose by half a sen to 65.5 sen. Dagang NeXchange and AirAsia both fell by three sen to 48 sen and 78 sen, respectively. KPJ Healthcare decreased by 32 sen to RM2.80, while NexG shed 5.0 sen to 27 sen.
Among the top gainers, Petronas Dagangan increased by 38 sen to RM20.00, MISC jumped 35 sen to RM8.58, and both Sarawak Plantation and Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose by 28 sen to RM4.82 and RM21.92, respectively. Concrete Engineering Products saw an increase of 26 sen to RM3.90.
Conversely, the top losers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which dropped RM1.70 to RM41.50. Allianz Malaysia fell by 58 sen to RM21.70, UMS Integration decreased by 35 sen to RM8.29, while Kelington Group and UWC both lost 25 sen to RM8.36 and RM6.49, respectively.
The index board reflected mixed results with the FBM Emas Shariah Index losing 12.43 points to 12,629.36, the FBM ACE Index sliding 35.21 points to 5,298.58, and the FBM 70 Index dropping 81.79 points to 18,069.24. The FBM Emas Index decreased by 13.68 points to 12,818.60, while the FBM Top 100 Index reduced by 15.13 points to 12,635.79.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 5.02 points to 20,270.42, whereas the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down by 0.16 of a point to 187.06. The Plantation Index soared 69.77 points to 9,510.43, and the Energy Index edged up by 0.41 of a point to 777.44.
The Main Market volume narrowed to 1.93 billion units valued at RM2.65 billion, compared to 2.00 billion units valued at RM2.91 billion last Friday. Warrants turnover declined to 1.06 billion units worth RM142.28 million versus 1.32 billion units worth RM165.20 million previously. The ACE Market volume increased to 608.82 million units valued at RM245.09 million from 578.51 million units valued at RM241.31 million on Friday.
For consumer products and services counters, 364.80 million shares were traded on the Main Market. Other sectors saw the following volumes: industrial products and services (403.33 million), construction (98.39 million), technology (458.30 million), financial services (49.02 million), property (119.72 million), plantation (44.68 million), real estate investment trusts (14.47 million), closed-end fund (29,200), energy (88.77 million), healthcare (153.77 million), telecommunications and media (24.48 million), transportation and logistics (62.25 million), utilities (49.47 million), and business trusts (91,700).