KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI slipped into negative territory by midday, giving up early gains as weak external sentiment weighed on investor appetite.
At the lunch break, the FBM KLCI fell 3.05 points, or 0.19%, to 1,605.09, after moving between 1,604.38 and 1,609.93.
Turnover stood at 1.81 billion shares worth RM1.04bil. Market breadth was negative, with 536 losers outpacing 345 gainers, while 466 counters were unchanged.
“We expect the FBM KLCI to trade lower today, tracking Wall Street’s sharp overnight pullback as renewed concerns over AI spending weighed on technology stocks and reversed Wednesday’s gains,” Apex Securities said.
The research house said better-than-expected earnings from Meta and Tesla failed to reassure investors, with attention shifting to rising capital expenditure for AI expansion and Tesla’s planned investments in AI and robotics.
A renewed surge in oil prices further dampened market sentiment.
It noted that the Nasdaq Composite’s steepest single-day decline since June could weigh on local technology and semiconductor-related stocks, which had recently staged a recovery.
Investors will also be monitoring next week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting for further clues on the US interest rate outlook.
On the domestic front, defensive and domestically driven stocks could provide some support amid weaker external sentiment.
“Technology stocks may remain under pressure amid concerns over AI spending, while Energy stocks could benefit from elevated oil prices amid Middle East tensions.
“Construction stocks may stay in focus on continued data centre-related project opportunities and potential contract wins,” it said.
Nestle led the gainers, rising 54 sen to RM89.50, followed by Carlsberg, which gained 46 sen to RM12.74, while Kelington and PETRONAS Chemicals added 16 sen each to RM8.54 and RM4.65, respectively.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose 12 sen to RM20.42, Hartalega
gained eight sen to RM1.14, while Hong Leong Industries advanced eight sen to RM16.20.
Among the losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries shed 34 sen to RM39.96, Hong Leong Bank declined 26 sen to RM21.24 and Batu Kawan lost 22 sen to RM19.08.
ViTrox slipped 20 sen to RM10.38, F&N dropped 16 sen to RM19.84, UMS Integration fell 15 sen to RM7.10 and Westports Holdings declined 13 sen to RM6.89.
