PETALING JAYA: The FBM KLCI closed lower yesterday as profit-taking tracked losses across key Asian markets, while an uncertain US-Iran ceasefire kept investor sentiment cautious.
At the close, the market barometer fell 10.07 points, or 0.59%, to 1,686.24.
The index traded within a 12.64-point range between an intraday high of 1,692.65 and a low of 1,680.01.
A trader said initial optimism from the ceasefire quickly faded as doubts emerged over its durability, with signs that tensions could resurface at any time.
“This uncertainty prompted a broader shift back to risk-averse sentiment, leading investors to scale back exposure to equities,” he told StarBiz.
He added that renewed volatility in oil prices and concerns over potential supply disruptions further weighed on market confidence.
“As a result, Bursa Malaysia tracked the global trend of cautious trading, reflecting heightened investor anxiety over geopolitical risks and their potential impact on economic stability.”
In the broader market, decliners outpaced advancers, with 651 stocks ending lower while 430 closed higher.
This gave a market breadth of 1.51, signalling that selling pressure dominated.
Turnover came to 3.05 billion shares valued at RM2.84bil.
Among the decliners, Nestle (Malaysia) slid 90 sen to RM100.10, Petronas Dagangan Bhd
fell 58 sen to RM21.4, Ayer Holdings Bhd lost 35 sen to RM7 and PPB Group Bhd declined 34 sen to RM11.86.
In contrast, United Plantations Bhd rose 42 sen to RM33.06, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd added 24 sen to RM22.20, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd gained 23 sen to RM5.82 and Apollo Food Holdings Bhd advanced 23 sen to RM5.94.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said markets are cautiously pricing in a tentative ceasefire, with investors increasingly focused on the probability of what comes next rather than a full resolution of the conflict.
He noted that while risk assets initially rallied on relief and positioning, underlying signals from the physical energy market remain fragile, suggesting the broader recovery narrative may still be vulnerable to renewed disruptions.
“The market is trading a ceasefire that exists more in headlines than in flow.
“The dollar, having been pushed to the ropes on the initial relief squeeze, has found its footing again after Iran flagged violations of the agreement. That shift matters. It reminds the market that this is not a resolution, it is an intermission.”
On the foreign exchange market, the ringgit declined 0.25% against the US dollar to 3.9860 and edged down 0.24% against the Singapore dollar to 3.1252.
On the external front, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.73%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 0.73%, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.61%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index edged down 0.3%.
In China, the CSI300 fell 0.64%, the Shanghai Composite declined 0.72%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.54%.
