KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia slipped on Tuesday as investors locked in profits from the recent rally, amid subdued regional trading with several major Asian markets closed for public holidays.
The FBM KLCI slipped 8.06 points, or 0.49%, to 1,630.03 after moving between an intraday high of 1,636.50 and a low of 1,624.35.
The broader market weakened as profit-takers outnumbered bargain-hunters, with 368 gainers, 717 losers and 463 counters unchanged on Bursa Malaysia. About 3.45 billion shares, valued at RM3bil, changed hands.
Among the gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries
rose 48 sen to RM31.48, Nestle added 36 sen to RM97.66, F&N climbed 28 sen to RM28.28 and Heineken gained 24 sen to RM21.30.
Newly listed Cheeding surged 104.17%, or 37.5 sen to 73.5 sen with 104.17 million shares traded.
Malayan Cement slid 21 sen to RM6.73, Kluang fell 20 sen to RM5.50, LPI Capital lost 18 sen to RM14.40 and Batu Kawan declined 16 sen to RM18.82.
Dealers noted that market sentiment stayed cautious in the run-up to the tabling of Budget 2026 on Friday.
They noted that some investors took the opportunity to lock in profits from recent gains, while others adopted a wait-and-see approach ahead of key political and fiscal developments.
The 16th Sabah state assembly was dissolved on Oct 6, paving the way for the 17th state election to be held within the next 60 days, before Dec 5, 2025.
MBSB Research said that while markets are often expected to react positively at the mere mention of a general election, historical trends suggest otherwise.
The research house noted that the FBM KLCI’s performance ahead of past elections has been mixed, with more significant market movements typically occurring after the polls.
“For example, there was a relief rally in 2013 after the concerns that there might be a change of government then, but BN eventually won, and poor market performance in 2008 and 2018 due to negative surprises. As such, state elections will likely have even less of an influence on market performance.
“We postulate that investors are now more concerned about the resultant (political, societal, and economic) stability post-election, and less on pre-election goodies and promises,” it said in a report.
However, MBSB Research did not rule out the possibility that Sabah-related stocks could attract sentiment-driven interest in the coming months.
Sabah-related stocks that may be influenced by the upcoming state election include Azam Jaya Bhd, Life Water Bhd, KTI Landmark Bhd, Suria Capital Holdings Bhd, Kretam Holdings Bhd, and Innoprise Plantations Bhd.
Meanwhile, data from Bursa Malaysia showed that foreign investors offloaded RM289mil worth of equities yesterday, while local institutions and retailers accumulated RM233mil and RM55mil, respectively.
Trading in the region remained subdued as markets in China, Hong Kong and South Korea were closed for public holidays.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.17%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.01%, Taiwan’s Taiex advanced 1.68%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 1.1%.
