At 5pm, the FBM KLCI decreased 5.51 points or 0.35% to 1,558.91 from Wednesday’s close of 1,564.42.
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index ended lower yesterday, dragged down by continued selling pressure on selected heavyweights, led by the financial services sector.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI decreased 5.51 points or 0.35% to 1,558.91 from Wednesday’s close of 1,564.42.
The market bellwether opened 4.53 points higher at 1,568.95, and moved between 1,554.85 and 1,569.43 throughout the day.
However, on the broader market, advancers led decliners 584 to 393, while 452 counters were unchanged, 913 untraded, and seven suspended. Turnover narrowed to 2.98 billion units worth RM2.67bil from 3.15 billion units worth RM2.74bil on Wednesday.
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd
fell 30 sen to RM7.50, Hong Leong Bank Bhd lost 40 sen to RM20.90 and Public Bank Bhd slid four sen to RM4.59, collectively pulling the composite index down by 8.25 points.
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI was unable to sustain its earlier momentum, primarily due to a decline in financial stocks.
The pullback was likely temporary as the sector’s fundamentals remained solid.
“Loan growth among financial institutions remained in the mid-single digits in January and is expected to gain traction throughout 2025, supported by developments in the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and the Malaysian government’s advancing industrial and economic agenda.
“In January, sector-wide lending grew by 5.7% year-on-year, while bank deposits increased by 3.1% over the same period,” he told Bernama.
He said that despite the broader index closing lower, trading activity indicated signs of recovery, with most FBM KLCI component stocks continuing their rebound from the previous session.
Among other heavyweights, Gamuda Bhd erased 11 sen to RM4.13, CelcomDigi Bhd was four sen lower at RM3.55, Malayan Banking Bhd lost two sen to RM10.56, but Maxis Bhd increased 14 sen to RM3.50 and Sime Darby Bhd perked up by nine sen to RM2.14.
As for the actives, MyEG Services Bhd gained six sen to 97 sen, G3 Global Bhd was flat at one sen, NexG Bhd and OCR Group Bhd inched up half-a-sen each to 26.5 sen and 3.5 sen, and Nationgate Holdings Bhd rose one sen to RM1.42.
