Bursa Malaysia Stays Lower At Midday In Line With Weaker Regional Performance

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia stayed lower at midday in line with the weaker regional performance.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 5.46 points or 0.32 per cent to 1,721.81 from yesterday's close of 1,727.27.

The benchmark index, which opened 0.33 of a point lower at 1,726.94, moved between 1,716.70 and 1,727.50 during the morning trading session.

Market breadth was negative with losers surpassing gainers 704 to 299, while 538 counters were unchanged, 1,176 untraded and 15 suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.34 billion units valued at RM2.07 billion.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said in a research note today that following the continued weakness on Wall Street, the brokerage firm expected the negative sentiment to spill over onto the local bourse today.

Technically, Malacca Securities said that while the FBM KLCI experienced a further pullback, the technical indicators are also showing weakening signals as the moving average convergence divergence histogram expanded toward negative territory, while the relative strength index traded below 50.

“Resistance is seen around 1,742-1,747, with support at 1,707-1,712,” it added. 

Meanwhile, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said that in line with Wall Street’s weakness, the FBM KLCI is expected to remain choppy and headline driven, pressured by rising bond yields and a fragile US-Iran ceasefire as markets swing between de-escalation and escalation with no clear resolution in sight.

“External headwinds, alongside the peak of the 1Q 2026 earnings season, heightened domestic political noise, and renewed foreign selling, continue to reinforce a risk-off bias,” it said. 

The investment bank said that hence, downside should find support around the 1,700 level.

“We remain cautiously constructive on Malaysia, underpinned by its net oil exporter status, resilient trade linkages, leverage to the global tech upcycle and supportive fiscal policies,” it said. 

Bursa Malaysia and its subsidiaries will be closed on May 27 in conjunction with the Aidiladha public holiday and will resume on May 28.

It said Bursa Malaysia and its subsidiaries will also be closed on June 1 and 2 in conjunction with the King's Birthday and Wesak Day holidays and will resume operations on June 3.

Among heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional was two sen higher at RM14.54, Public Bank inched down one sen to RM4.78, CIMB fell three sen to RM7.81, IHH Healthcare decreased five sen to RM8.95, while Maybank was flat at RM11.08. 

As for the most active counters, the Main Market debutant SkyeChip rose RM1.75 to RM2.63, Capital A perked one sen to 45 sen, Hong Seng Consolidated and Zetrix AI went down half a sen each to half a sen and 83 sen, and Oppstar was flat at 82.5 sen. 

Of the top gainers, Sunway Construction gained 19 sen to RM7.49, Malaysian Pacific Industries surged RM1.00 to RM44.20, Nestle went up 40 sen to RM95.44, UMS Integration added 20 sen to RM8.18, and Allianz Malaysia gained 16 sen to RM21.62.

Among the top losers, Petronas Dagangan lost 48 sen to RM18.72, Petronas Gas slipped 46 sen to RM17.26, Wasco slid 17.5 sen to 92.5 sen, Hong Leong Financial Group fell 16 sen to RM18.44 and Keck Seng was 12 sen easier at RM5.25. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 56.61 points to 12,747.09, the FBM Top 100 Index weakened 53.18 points to 12,586.90, the FBM ACE Index edged down 24.27 points to 4,682.32, the FBM Emas Shariah Index trimmed 61.70 points to 12,673.46, and the FBM Mid 70 Index dropped 133.76 points to 18,242.16. 

By sector, the Financial Services Index reduced 47.40 points to 20,035.66, the Energy Index eased 9.43 points to 793.62, the Industrial Products and Services Index gained 0.86 of a point to 199.73 and the Plantation Index rose 24.57 points to 8,645.51.

-- BERNAMA