KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — Bursa Malaysia ended lower today, reversing yesterday’s gains, as investor sentiment remained cautious amid subdued trading activity, with participants continuing to assess the broader macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.
At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped by 4.25 points or 0.24 per cent to 1,746.31 from Tuesday’s close of 1,750.56.
The benchmark index, which opened 0.10 of-a-point firmer at 1,750.66, moved between 1,742.41 and 1,752.64 during today’s session.
Market breadth was negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 611 to 577. A total of 555 counters were unchanged, 932 untraded, and 13 suspended.
Turnover decreased to 4.14 billion units worth RM3.44 billion compared with 4.92 billion units worth RM3.59 billion on Tuesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said that investors adopted a cautiously positive stance ahead of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China.
Key topics expected to be discussed include tariffs and artificial intelligence.
“On the domestic front, market direction remains uncertain given the increased volatility and mixed external developments,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan, nevertheless, said the decline in the FBM KLCI below the 1,750-point level should not be interpreted as a sign of structural weakness, particularly after the market’s strong performance throughout April and last week.
“Instead, the latest pullback appears more consistent with short-term profit-taking following the recent rally,” he added.
Among heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional fell six sen to RM11.18 and RM14.72, respectively, IHH Healthcare slipped four sen to RM8.99, while Public Bank rose four sen to RM4.88 and CIMB climbed two sen to RM7.92.
On the most active list, GIIB added 6.5 sen to 27 sen, WCT rose 3.5 sen to 51.5 sen, and UEM Sunrise gained three sen to 66.5 sen. Astro and SMRT slid half-a-sen to 5.5 sen and 27 sen, respectively.
Among the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries advanced RM1.54 to RM43.80, UMS Integration jumped 80 sen to RM8.80, Petronas Dagangan increased 78 sen to RM21.10, Vitrox garnered 27 sen to RM6.29, and UWC soared 24 sen to RM5.97.
The top losers included Fraser & Neave, which dipped 74 sen to RM29.16, Hong Leong Industries sank 40 sen to RM18.90, while Allianz and United Plantations dropped 18 sen each to RM21.12 and RM30.12, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slid 18.13 points to 12,936.24, the FBMT 100 Index lost 20.47 points to 12,774.20, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 6.25 points to 12,868.05.
The FBM ACE Index rose by 23.91 points to 4,752.19 and the FBM Mid 70 Index increased 15.73 points to 18,548.80.
By sector, the Financial Services Index ticked up 0.75 of-a-point at 20,302.05, and the Plantation Index shrank 78.81 points to 8,719.25. The Industrial Products and Services Index put on 1.06 points to 199.73 and the Energy Index eased by 1.88 points to 805.94.
The Main Market volume slipped to 2.32 billion units valued at RM3.07 billion from 2.79 billion units valued at RM3.03 billion on Tuesday.
Warrants turnover expanded to 1.18 billion units worth RM152.42 million from 1.07 billion units worth RM148.0 million previously.
The ACE Market volume tumbled to 638.74 million units valued at RM217.64 million from 1.05 billion units valued at RM412.60 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 261.59 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (502.48 million), construction (342.55 million), technology (392.03 million), financial services (55.95 million), property (284.60 million), plantation (28.91 million), real estate investment trusts (15.28 million), closed-end fund (26,600), energy (80.44 million), healthcare (119.58 million), telecommunications and media (125.97 million), transportation and logistics (64.32 million), utilities (47.78 million), and business trusts (69,300).
