Bursa Malaysia Ends Lower On Mixed Sentiment Ahead Of Key Data Releases

By Siti Noor Afera Abu

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia snapped its three-day winning streak to close marginally lower on Wednesday as selling pressure emerged in selected heavyweight counters, particularly in financial services and telecommunications sectors.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said that the broader market sentiment was mixed, suggesting investors remained selective ahead of key local and global data releases.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 3.22 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 1,631.61 from yesterday’s close of 1,634.83.

The barometer index opened 1.91 points firmer at 1,636.74, and fluctuated between 1,630.12 and 1,641.27 throughout the trading session.

The broader market was negative, with 650 losers outnumbering 463 gainers, while 557 counters were unchanged, 1,049 untraded, and 10 suspended.

Turnover dipped to 3.42 billion units worth RM2.85 billion compared with 3.53 billion units worth RM2.85 billion on Tuesday.

Mohd Sedek noted that the local market’s pullback reflected short-term profit-taking rather than structural weakness, as investors shifted focus to value-oriented stocks.

“However, this momentum is underpinned by resilient third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) expectations, steady credit demand, and moderating inflation, signalling that Malaysia’s macro fundamentals are gradually firming.

“Overall, local sentiment is likely to remain data-driven, with attention centred on the ringgit’s trajectory, global inflation trends, and upcoming earnings guidance, key determinants for sustaining the market’s recovery momentum heading into year-end,” he told Bernama.

Among heavyweights, Maybank rose three sen to RM9.94 and Tenaga Nasional added two sen to RM13.40. Public Bank fell three sen to RM4.27, while both CIMB and IHH Healthcare lost six sen to RM7.59 and RM8.24, respectively.

On the most active list, MMAG declined 1.5 sen to 7.5 sen, Bumi Armada and Dagang NeXchange shed one sen each to 30 sen, respectively, ACE debutant Farmiera gained half-a-sen to 25.5 sen, while Perak Transit was flat at 27.5 sen. 

Among the top gainers, Nestle increased 90 sen to RM112.90, Fraser & Neave went up 84 sen to RM31.04, United Plantations rose 44 sen to RM26.24, Dutch Lady rose 32 sen to RM27.28, and PJBumi surged 19 sen to RM1.77.

As for the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries slipped 40 sen to RM31.0, Petronas Dagangan lost 26 sen to RM22.66, Hong Leong Industries declined 22 sen to RM14.86, and QL Resources shed 13 sen to RM4.25.

On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index eased 5.62 points to 11,866.74, the FBM Emas Index slid 8.58 points to 12,105.73, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 10.10 points to 12,122.73.

The FBM ACE Index gave up 11.05 points to 5,064.67 but the FBM Mid 70 Index garnered 69.73 points to 16,955.46.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index erased 2.92 points to 8,173.48, the Financial Services Index fell 16.03 points to 18,427.86, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.55 of-a-point to 167.73, and the Energy Index shed 1.25 points to 758.09.

The Main Market volume declined to 1.48 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion from 1.55 billion units valued at RM2.49 billion on Tuesday.

Warrants turnover slipped to 1.36 billion units worth RM221.58 million compared with 1.42 billion units worth RM213.42 million previously.

The ACE Market volume expanded to 578.30 million units valued at RM179.56 million from 550.85 million units valued at RM149.32 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 319.57 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (222.83 million), construction (118.40 million), technology (169.23 million), financial services (72.31 million), property (206.27 million), plantation (63.77 million), real estate investment trusts (20.12 million), closed-end fund (15,000), energy (120.17 million), healthcare (77.49 million), telecommunications and media (33.66 million), transportation and logistics (32.96 million), utilities (24.69 million), and business trusts (468,000).

-- BERNAMA