KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Friday amid mixed regional market performance as investors turned cautious over a possible rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and upcoming US economic data that may influence the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate decision next week.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) pared most earlier losses to settle 4.55 points easier, or 0.28 per cent, to 1,616.52 from Thursday’s close of 1,621.07.
The benchmark index, which opened 0.37 of-a-point lower at 1,620.70, moved between 1,609.67 and 1,621.25 throughout the day.
The broader market was negative, with decliners outpacing advancers 604 to 439. A total of 550 counters were unchanged, 1,151 untraded, and 18 suspended.
Turnover declined to 3.17 billion units worth RM2.24 billion from 4.48 billion units worth RM2.75 billion yesterday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Japanese stocks declined sharply on growing concerns over the possibility of a rate hike by the BOJ.
"Meanwhile, artificial intelligence stocks are changing hands due to portfolio rebalancing by fund managers. At the same time, investors are cautious ahead of the US economic data which may influence the Fed's decision for interest rate cuts next week,” he told Bernama.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI closed lower today, although earlier losses narrowed significantly, as investors trimmed risk ahead of the US personal consumption expenditures inflation to be released tonight.
"Across the broader Bursa Malaysia sector heatmap, the performance divergence was equally clear. The telecommunications sector recorded notable losses, mirroring the weakness seen in the FBM KLCI telco constituents,” he said.
In addition, he said construction emerged as one of the strongest performers, underpinned by ongoing domestic project momentum and the strengthening ringgit, which helps ease imported material and machinery costs and improves margin expectations for contractors.
Among the heavyweights, IHH Healthcare was 9.0 sen higher at RM8.40, Tenaga Nasional added 14 sen to RM12.64, Maybank gave up 6.0 sen to RM10.18, CIMB eased 1.0 sen to RM7.91, while Public Bank was flat at RM4.39.
On the most active list, V.S. Industry gained 1.0 sen to 47 sen, Velesto Energy
inched up half-a-sen to 25 sen, Tanco rose 2.0 sen to RM1.17, Zetrix AI slipped 2.0 sen to 81.5 sen, and Main Market debutant Geohan Corporation fell 1.0 sen to 54 sen.
Top gainers included Chin Teck Plantations which rose 12 sen to RM10.98, while Sunway Construction, Ajinomoto, and Malayan Cement expanded 10 sen each to RM6.02, RM13.90, and RM6.89 respectively.
Among the top losers, Nestle trimmed by RM3.70 to RM112.00, Allianz Malaysia declined 46 sen to RM19.52, and Fraser & Neave lost 50 sen to RM35.10.
On the index board, the FBM ACE Index shed 10.49 points to 4,816.14, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 34.63 points to 11,797.05, the FBM Mid 70 Index shrank 24.31 points to 16,722.61, the FBM Emas Index fell 28.96 points to 11,962.23, and the FBMT 100 Index dipped 29.18 points to 11,743.82.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index put on 0.48 of-a-point to 758.54, the Plantation Index decreased 15.07 points to 8,096.25, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.51 of-a-point to 165.78, and the Financial Services Index shaved 36.69 points to 19,011.33.
The Main Market volume improved slightly to 1.30 billion units worth RM1.92 billion from 1.29 billion units worth RM2.24 billion on Thursday.
Warrants turnover declined to 1.57 billion units worth RM208.62 million against 2.78 billion units worth RM386.97 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume dwindled to 302.95 million units valued at RM107.28 million versus 406.31 million units valued at RM117.33 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 225.11 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (245.04 million), construction (114.54 million), technology (150.13 million), financial services (59.03 million), property (158.35 million), plantation (25.35 million), real estate investment trusts (27.51 million), closed-end fund (16,000), energy (165.76 million), healthcare (34.39 million), telecommunications and media (28.30 million), transportation and logistics (27.22 million), utilities (35.01 million), and business trusts (1.0 million). - Reuters
