KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia traded lower at the lunch break on Friday as selling in selected heavyweight stocks outweighed gains in technology and semiconductor counters.
At the lunch break, the benchmark FBM KLCI fell 9.76 points, or 0.57%, to 1,701.63, after recovering from its session low of 1,699.18.
Market breadth remained negative, with 512 decliners outpacing 339 gainers, while 1.54 billion shares valued at RM1.17 billion changed hands.
Among the decliners, BLD Plantation
fell 60 sen to RM14.40, Allianz Malaysia dropped 20 sen to RM21.70, PETRONAS Chemicals shed 16 sen to RM4.42 and CIMB lost 15 sen to RM7.63.
Technology and semiconductor counters led the gainers, with Malaysian Pacific Industries surging 82 sen to RM49.38, UWC Holdings rising 29 sen to RM6.40, while Greatech Technology and SkyeChip advanced five sen each to RM2.63 and RM2.91, respectively.
“A stronger buying momentum and improved liquidity in the domestic market will be essential to support a sustained climb to higher levels,” TA Securities said.
The brokerage said immediate resistance remains at the 123.6% Fibonacci Projection (FP) level of 1,759, followed by stronger upside hurdles at the 138.2% FP level of 1,805 and the 150% FP level of 1,842.
On the downside, immediate support is seen at the March 2026 low of 1,664, with stronger support levels at the 76.4% Fibonacci Retracement (FR) level of 1,610 and the 61.8% FR level of 1,564.
Meanwhile, Hong Leong Investment Bank Research expects the FBM KLCI to remain range-bound amid headline-driven volatility following the US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU), which marks the start of a 60-day negotiation period towards a potential final peace agreement.
The research house said investors are also reassessing the implications of a more hawkish US Federal Reserve stance, which could continue to influence market sentiment in the near term.
