Bursa Malaysia Extends Downtrend To Close Lower

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad and Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Wednesday on continuous profit-taking in selected heavyweights led by the financial services and utilities sectors.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 13.90 points or 0.91 per cent to 1,511.50 from Tuesday’s close of 1,525.40

The benchmark index opened 1.63 points lower at 1,523.77 and moved between 1,510.14 and 1,526.29 throughout the session.

The market breadth was negative, with 727 decliners outpacing 335 gainers and 432 counters unchanged, while 951 were untraded and eight suspended.

Turnover improved to 3.18 billion shares worth RM2.44 billion, compared with 3.07 billion shares worth RM2.36 billion on Tuesday

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd's head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said telecommunications counters led gains among FBM KLCI constituents, while consumer discretionary names bore the brunt of the sell-off.

However, across the broader market, all indices closed in negative territory, reflecting the cautious mood despite recent domestic interest rate cuts, he added.

“Adding to the subdued tone, Indonesia’s successful negotiation of a 19 per cent tariff rate with the United States (US) further dampened sentiment as Malaysia awaits clarity on its tariff status, currently set at 25%.

“This development highlights Malaysia’s diminishing competitive edge in regional trade, particularly against Vietnam and Indonesia,” he told Bernama.

Mohd Sedek also said market jitters intensified over US President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on the European Union (EU) and Mexico, stoking concerns that such measures could rekindle inflationary pressures following the stronger consumer price index (CPI) readings.

“US headline CPI accelerated to 2.7 per cent year-on-year in June, up from 2.4 per cent in May, prompting investors to reassess expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

“A steady flow of negative tariff headlines, coupled with waning hopes for near-term monetary easing in the US, continued to weigh on risk sentiment,” he added.

Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank fell 12 sen to RM9.53, Public Bank slipped three sen to RM4.23, Tenaga Nasional shed 22 sen to RM13.68, CIMB lost 13 sen to RM6.50 and IHH Healthcare dropped six sen to RM6.52.

In active trade, NexG gained one sen to 48.5 sen, Zetrix AI added two sen to 95 sen, TWL inched up half-a-sen to three sen, while Green Ocean Corporation went down 1.5 sen to 11 sen and Tanco was one sen lower to 89.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 105.05 points to 11,371.03, the FBMT 100 Index sank 104.96 points to 11,132.65, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 79.23 points to 11,403.95.

The FBM 70 Index dropped 167.01 points to 16,521.39, while the FBM ACE Index went down 5.54 points to 4,582.08.

By sector, the Financial Services Index dipped 258.89 points to 17,243.76, the Industrial Products and Services Index shaved 0.76 of a point to 152.63, and the Plantation Index eased 11.63 points to 7,406.79. The Energy Index inched down 3.25 points to 735.67.

The Main Market volume retreated to 1.38 billion units worth RM2.11 billion from 1.44 billion units valued at RM2.07 billion on Tuesday.

Warrant turnover rose to 1.49 billion units valued at RM213.66 million from 1.28 billion units worth RM172.45 million previously.

The ACE Market volume decreased to 304.96 million units valued at RM112.71 million, versus 347.59 million units worth RM122.67 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 206.34 million shares traded on the Main Market; industrial products and services (201.02 million), construction (73.57 million), technology (293.92 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (88.88 million), property (206.53 million), plantation (12.92 million), REITs (21.71 million), closed-end fund (12,600), energy (78.45 million), healthcare (112.27 million), telecommunications and media (33.65 million), transportation and logistics (18.68 million), utilities (30.12 million), and business trusts (51,100).

-- BERNAMA