IPPFA's Mohd Sedek said the FBM KLCI remains supported above the 1,730 zone.
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended lower yesterday, extending its mild pullback as negative global sentiment weighed on risk appetite, says an economist.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI eased 11.80 points, or 0.68%, to 1,731.02 from the previous day’s close of 1,742.82.
The market bellwether opened three points higher at 1,745.82, and subsequently hit an intraday high of 1,747.18 in early trade before slipping to its intraday low of 1,731.02 at closing.
In the broader market, losers trounced gainers 922 to 279, with 472 counters unchanged, 981 counters untraded and 15 suspended.
Turnover expanded to 3.83 billion units valued at RM3.66bil from 2.59 billion units valued at RM2.86bil earlier.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the local market’s decline was largely driven by external spillovers, particularly weakness across regional equity markets, as investors continued to reassess valuation risks in technology and artificial intelligence-linked names.
“Locally, this translated into broad-based sector rotation and profit-taking following the index’s recent rally, with selling pressure evident across utilities, industrial-related names, healthcare, construction and energy, while financials were comparatively resilient.
“Pockets of strength in real estate and selected yield-oriented counters provided limited support, underscoring a rebalancing of positions rather than an outright risk-off move,” he told Bernama.
He said from a technical perspective, the FBM KLCI remains supported above the 1,730 zone, which has emerged as a near-term psychological and technical anchor.
“Despite today’s pullback, the index continues to trade comfortably above its key moving averages, signalling that the broader uptrend remains intact.
“Momentum indicators have moderated after a strong advance, consistent with a consolidation phase rather than a trend reversal,” he added.
Among heavyweights, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd
perked up two sen to RM8.52, Public Bank Bhd slid one sen to RM4.90, Tenaga Nasional Bhd shed 12 sen to RM13.98, IHH Healthcare Bhd fell 19 sen to RM8.77, while Malayan Banking Bhd was flat at RM11.94.
Among the top gainers, Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd advanced RM1.10 to RM113.00, Petronas Dagangan Bhd added 40 sen to RM20.36, Southern Acids (M) Bhd rose 16 sen to RM3.50, and Batu Kawan Bhd added 12 sen each to RM19.62.
Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd led the decliners, falling RM1.48 sen to RM33.88, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd slid 50 sen to RM32.00, United Plantations Bhd slipped 82 sen to RM28.98, Petronas Gas Bhd lost 40 sen to RM18.10, and Hong Leong Industries Bhd shed 26 sen to RM16.78.
