KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia remained in negative territory at midday on Monday as broad-based selling persisted, with investors staying defensive amid a lack of strong market catalysts.
At the lunch break, the FBM KLCI was down 4.74 points, or 0.28%, at 1,663.00, recovering from its intramorning low of 1,655.28.
The broader market remained under pressure, with 502 decliners versus 360 gainers on Bursa Malaysia, while 516 counters were unchanged. Turnover came to 1.4 billion shares valued at RM849.9mil.
TA Securities said bearish technical momentum and trend indicators suggest the FBM KLCI is likely to maintain its downside bias.
Investors are also expected to remain defensive amid lingering uncertainty over the domestic political landscape ahead of the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections, it said.
Nevertheless, TA Securities said oversold blue-chip heavyweights may attract selective bargain hunting, but stronger catalysts and improved liquidity will be needed to sustain a recovery.
“As for the index, immediate support will be at the 76.4% FR (1,610), with stronger support levels seen at the 61.8% FR (1,564) and 50% FR (1,527).
“Meanwhile, immediate resistance is pegged at the June 2026 high (1,723), with tougher upside hurdles located at the 123.6% FP (1,759) and 138.2% FP (1,805).”
Apex Securities said market sentiment is likely to remain cautious in the near term as investors digest the global sell-off in semiconductor and chip-equipment stocks.
While the rotation away from AI hardware could keep technology-related counters volatile, structural demand for AI and data centre investments is expected to remain intact.
The brokerage said investors will focus on a busy week of U.S. economic data, including the ISM manufacturing index and non-farm payrolls, for clues on the Federal Reserve's policy path. With price pressures remaining elevated, the Fed is expected to keep a cautious stance on interest rates.
“Domestically, Malaysia’s growing role as a regional AI infrastructure hub, resilient investment activity and Bank Negara Malaysia’s measures to support the ringgit should continue to underpin sentiment, although resumed fund outflows and political uncertainty ahead of the general election may cap near-term upside,” Apex said.
Among the decliners, Nestle slid RM2.34 to RM93.50, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 38 sen to RM20.92, IHH Healthcare lost 18 sen to RM8.36, and Hong Leong Bank declined 18 sen to RM8.36.
Gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries
, which jumped RM1.14 to RM48.14, F&N, which added 38 sen to RM28.08, ViTrox, which gained 30 sen to RM7.54, and Petronas Dagangan, which rose 20 sen to RM18.80.
Newly listed RT Pastry slipped one sen to 17 sen, below its IPO price of 18 sen, with 30.19 million shares traded.
