Bursa Malaysia Stays In Negative Territory At Midday, Tracking Regional Markets

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia stayed in negative territory at midday, mirroring losses across regional markets amid persistent selling pressure and higher oil prices.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 11.08 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 1,600.70 from Wednesday’s close of 1,611.78.

The benchmark index opened 1.67 points higher at 1,613.45 and moved between 1,597.94 and 1,613.45 during the morning trading session.

On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 757 to 312, while 429 counters were unchanged, 1,330 were untraded and 13 were suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.10 billion units, worth RM1.65 billion.

CIMB eased 13 sen to RM7.20, Gamuda shed 16 sen to RM4.92, and YTL Power International erased nine sen to RM5.53. These three counters collectively dragged down the composite index by 5.64 points.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said Wall Street ended lower on Wednesday as elevated US Treasury yields and the latest Federal Reserve minutes reinforced rate-hike concerns.

“Elevated US Treasury yields and renewed rate-hike concerns could keep investors cautious, following the Federal Open Market Committee’s minutes which showed that most participants believed another rate increase would likely be appropriate by year-end.

“With the 10-year Treasury yield near 5.3 per cent, defensive positioning could persist, although AI-related names with strong earnings visibility may remain resilient,” it said in a note today. 

On the local front, Malacca Securities expects equities to remain selective ahead of Budget 2027 on Oct 9, with infrastructure and earnings visibility in focus.

“Hartanah Kenyalang Bhd could attract interest following a sharp third-quarter 2026 recovery, with revenue rising 93.4 per cent year-on-year to RM49.5 million and net profit reaching RM3.0 million, while its order book has expanded to about RM851 million.

“Meanwhile, Jati Tinggi Group Bhd offers fresh power infrastructure exposure after securing RM15.7 million contracts from Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) for underground cable works and a submarine power cable monitoring system, bringing its unbilled order book to RM1.1 billion,” it said.

Among other heavyweights, Hong Leong Bank shaved off 34 sen to RM21.16, Press Metal Aluminium went down six sen to RM7.14, Maybank slipped four sen to RM9.83, while IOI Properties added 10 sen to RM3.40, and TNB rose eight sen to RM12.94. 

In active trade, Zetrix AI was flat at eight sen, Top Glove put on 3.5 sen to 89 sen, V.S Industry went up 1.5 sen to 34 sen, Jaks Resources inched up half a sen to 18 sen, and NationGate was five sen firmer at RM1.91. 

Among the top gainers, Nestle garnered 86 sen to RM89.88, Chin Teck Plantations climbed 26 sen to RM10.54, Bus Cap surged 22.5 sen to RM1.04, Binastra Corporation jumped 18 sen to RM2.68, and Gas Malaysia rose 14 sen to RM5.39.

Malaysian Pacific Industries led the top decliners, falling RM1.20 to RM44.00, Dutch Lady Milk Industries declined 46 sen to RM29.24, United Plantations lost 40 sen to RM30.78, Kelington erased 33 sen to RM8.62, and Mi Technovation gave up 32 sen to RM6.06.

On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index fell 149.39 points to 17,604.10, the FBM Emas Index slid 85.56 points to 12,039.39, the FBM Top 100 Index dipped 86.65 points to 11,815.33, the FBM Emas Shariah Index sank 73.23 points to 12,073.92, and the FBM ACE Index shrank 51.33 points to 5,571.05.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.85 of a point to 179.03, the Energy Index eased 0.96 points to 838.01, the Plantation Index tumbled 88.35 points to 8,887.69, and the Financial Services Index slipped 164.50 points to 18,398.82.

-- BERNAMA